- Expertise: Sales & Marketing
- Location: Rolle, Switzerland
- Languages spoken: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Catalan
- DOB: 28/04/63
Who is Jordi Vila?
Jordi is currently Vice President, Sales for Nissan Europe, a position he has held since May 2017. In this role, he is responsible for European sales operations, processes, organisation, and network development across the entire region. He has a number of regional teams reporting into him centrally, and much of his time is spent working with the sales teams of the regional business units across various markets.
He describes the day-to-day of his role as: “lots of cross-functional work with our market teams, our marketing and finance arms, as well as supporting on overall delivery and through regular proposals. This is of course focused on Europe, but I am always in close contact with our global headquarters team in Yokohama, Japan”.
Jordi’s role involves frequent travel and he will typically spend time in at least three different European cities each week.
Career History
Jordi initially joined Nissan in Spain back in 1989 developing both local and export commercial roles at his initial stints. He was promoted to Nissan Europe in October 1997 as LCV Sales and Marketing Manager, and since that time, he has held a range of positions across different functions and markets within the company, including the roles of NE LCV Chief Marketing Manager, NE Market Manager and Importers GM, market Sales Director and Customer Quality& Network Development in Italy, CQ&DND GM at NE, Corporate Sales GM at NE, and more recently undertook the roles of Country Director in Netherlands, and finally Managing Director of Nissan Nordics RBU until March 2017, based in Helsinki.
Achievements
During his time in the Nordics, he is particularly proud of the culture of his team. He says: “We significantly changed the employee engagement approach when I was there, which significantly increased employee satisfaction, and this was reflected in our surveys of staff”.
He added: “I really am so happy at how we improved our performance and culture in the Nordics, the way we developed such a great team ethic. This also translated into tangible commercial success, and we were able to triple profits year on year, which shows the value of such a close team.”
Personal Memory
“I honestly have so many great memories with Nissan, that it’s very hard to pick one,” Jordi said. “I am lucky to enjoy what I do, and I think it’s a real shame if you don’t.”
Among his fondest memories is his time in the Netherlands, during which his team won Nissan’s Global Award for National Sales Company. “I still have the picture on my desk today,” he said. “I’m also very proud to still be in touch with so many of my former regional colleagues,” Jordi said.
Why is Nissan different?
Jordi explains that beyond the company’s culture, the diversity and differing cultures and viewpoints, help to separate Nissan from its competitors. He said: “We have Japanese DNA, but cultural input from so many different countries, and I think that helps to differentiate us.”
He added: “Nissan is genuinely never boring. It’s a place where speed counts, where we are always moving, and where you can make a real difference. If you enjoy variety and a fast-paced environment, then it is definitely the company for you.”
Future Predictions
Looking at the market broadly, Jordi explains that we are currently seeing a revolution in terms of power and energy technology. This is opening up lots of commercial opportunities for manufacturers, and will help to define the industry in the coming years.
He also highlights an ongoing chance in business models. As he puts it: “Not only do we produce and sell cars but there are more revenue streams emerging all the time, this is a really interesting change, and one I expect to continue.”
Education
- Barcelona Central University, MA in Law, 1982 – 1987
- MBA at ICFE (Instituto Catalán de Formación Empresarial) 1990-1991, and Master on Foreign Trade at CEDEIN (Centro de Estudios de Economía Internacional) , 1992-1994
In Jordi Vila’s Personal Time
As an avid sportsman, Jordi enjoys running, skiing, and outdoor sports. He also has a more unique hobby: “I fly airplanes in my spare time whenever I get the opportunity.”
Jordi’s current car
Jordi drives a Nissan X-Trail.
