Jeffrey Webster is the former director of Diversity and Inclusion for Nissan North America – U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Webster joined Nissan in 1985 as a production technician at the company’s vehicle assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn. In 1989, he transitioned to the Human Resources team as an employee relations representative. He was later promoted to employee relations section manager and served in that role in several different production areas. In May 2001, Webster transferred to the Canton plant to serve as department manager for employee relations, training, organizational development and communications. He was promoted to director of Human Resources in March 2006 and to his current position in 2014.
Before joining Nissan, Webster worked for the National Baptist Publishing Board. He earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a two-year degree from Columbia State Community College.
Webster, a national board member of the Nissan Foundation, also currently serves on the board of the Urban League of Middle Tennessee, YWCA Nashville, Jobs for Mississippi Graduates and the Mississippi Center for Justice. He is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management. Twice, he received the “Black Achiever of the Year” award in honor of his accomplishments as a minority professional. He was also named one of “The 70 Most Influential Men” in African Americans On Wheels magazine. Webster received the Emerging Leader Award at the 17th Annual Global Automotive Summit from Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., Founder of The Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and the Citizenship Education Fund. Recently in 2018, Black Enterprise named Webster as one of the top executives in diversity.
Under his leadership, Nissan has received numerous awards for their diversity efforts and some are as follows: DiversityInc Top 25 Noteworthy Companies for Diversity and Inclusion, Murfreesboro Branch of the NAACP – Organization of the Year, Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Business Corporate Diversity Award, Human Rights Campaign/CEI Index Perfect Score.