Shareholders of Nissan Motor Co. on Tuesday approved a revamped management that diminishes the influence of its biggest shareholder and alliance partner, Renault SA, as the Japanese automaker seeks to rebalance its rocky partnership with the French company.

At their annual general meeting in Yokohama, the shareholders approved a company proposal to nominate 10 directors, including current CEO Makoto Uchida. The proposal did not include the reappointment of Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta, a former Renault executive who stepped down Tuesday.

The company said it will not appoint a new COO to replace Gupta. The Indian executive became Nissan COO in December 2019 after serving as COO at Mitsubishi Motors Corp., another alliance partner.

Among other directors, Masakazu Toyoda, chair of the nomination committee, and Jenifer Rogers, a legal expert, also stepped down, while Brenda Harvey, hailing from IBM Corp., was newly appointed, reducing the total number of directors to 10 from 12.

The decision came as Nissan tries to gain more independence from Renault, which currently holds an over 40 percent stake in the Japanese company.

The two companies in February agreed to make their mutual cross-shareholdings equal at 15 percent in a deal that would change the decades-old capital alliance.

A final agreement has yet to be reached, however, despite their initial plan to conclude a deal by the end of March this year.

The departure of Gupta, announced earlier this month, surprised many in the industry as he was seen as a candidate for future Nissan CEO. Infighting among its executives is said to be behind his decision to leave the company.

Nissan initially said he decided to leave to pursue other opportunities, but in response to increased media attention, the automaker said it has asked a third-party body to examine the matter.

"Nissan is always plagued with scandals," said a 73-year-old shareholder from Tokyo who attended the annual meeting. "I wonder if its corporate governance is really functioning."

Prior to the vote on directors, U.S. proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis had advised shareholders to vote against the reappointment of Uchida, saying the company is not doing enough to address issues related to climate change and that he should be held responsible.

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