 However, after 21-month slide in sales, Nissan announced on October 7, 1997, that Thomas was resigning for personal reasons.He was replaced by Minoru Nakamura, then-current chairman of Nissan Motors USA and president of Nissan North America (the parent company of Nissan Motors USA).In July 2000, Roberts was named chief executive officer for North American operations of Edmunds.com, responsible for North American sales and marketing, partner relationship management and business development.