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Renault Names New Leaders to Replace Carlos Ghosn Renault Names New Leaders to Replace Carlos Ghosn
(about 7 hours later)
PARIS — Renault announced new leadership on Thursday after Carlos Ghosn resigned as chairman and chief executive from his jail cell, ending his reign as one of the world’s most powerful industrialists and opening a pivotal new chapter for the world’s biggest auto alliance. PARIS — Renault announced new leadership on Thursday after Carlos Ghosn resigned as chairman and chief executive from his jail cell, ending his reign as one of the world’s most powerful industrialists and opening a crucial new chapter for the world’s biggest auto alliance.
Jean-Dominique Senard, the chief executive of the French tire maker Michelin and a veteran businessman, was named chairman, the company said. Thierry Bolloré, Renault’s chief operating officer, was named chief executive. Mr. Ghosn had filled both positions for over a decade. The quick transition — within hours of Mr. Ghosn’s departure — is aimed at rebuilding ties between Renault and Nissan. Their relationship has festered since Mr. Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November, after an internal investigation at Nissan, on charges that he vastly understated his earnings to financial authorities.
The quick transition — within hours of Mr. Ghosn’s departure — removes an obstacle to stronger ties between Renault and Nissan. Their relationship has festered since Mr. Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November on charges of financial wrongdoing. Company officials said Renault would accelerate efforts to smooth tensions over the future governance of the global car alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors of Japan and which Mr. Ghosn oversaw for more than a decade. Renault and Nissan have each viewed the other as trying to capitalize on the leadership vacuum since Mr. Ghosn’s arrest to tip the balance of power in its favor.
Company officials said Renault would step up efforts to smooth tensions and reinforce the global car alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors of Japan, that Mr. Ghosn led for over a decade. Renault and Nissan have each viewed the other as trying to capitalize on the leadership vacuum since Mr. Ghosn’s arrest to tip the balance of power in their favor. How easily they can turn a page remains to be seen. Renault, which holds a 43 percent stake in Nissan, has been the dominant partner even though Nissan sells more cars, a state of affairs that has rankled executives in Japan.
That diplomatic task will largely fall to Mr. Senard, 66, the son of an ambassador and a meticulous executive with a reputation for easing industrial relations with unions while at Michelin. [Can the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance survive without Mr. Ghosn?]
In the statement, the Renault board said it planned to “supervise actively the functioning of the alliance,” and designated Mr. Senard as its main negotiator with its partners “for any discussion on the alliance’s organization and evolution.” The task of corporate diplomacy will fall to Jean-Dominique Senard, the chief executive of the French tire maker Michelin, who was named Renault’s chairman Thursday. The son of an ambassador and a meticulous executive, Mr. Senard, 65, has a reputation for easing industrial relations with unions at Michelin, and for operating with a more deliberate style than Mr. Ghosn.
The combined companies employ about 450,000 worldwide. Renault has more that 47,000 workers in France, making it one of the country’s biggest employers. His immediate priority will be to restore confidence in the relationship with Nissan, where Mr. Ghosn was viewed as having outsize power. Mr. Senard will be Renault’s point person for managing strategic and operational issues in the alliance, including turning the focus as soon as possible back to the companies’ business, as the automakers face headwinds in their key markets.
At a late-night news conference at Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, Nissan’s chief executive, Hiroto Saikawa, said he hoped to hold talks with the new Renault leadership as early as possible. “I think we will be able to hold big, forward-looking discussions.” Thierry Bolloré, Renault’s chief operating officer, was named Renault’s chief executive and will run the company’s day-to-day functions. Mr. Ghosn had filled both the chairman and chief executive positions.
In a statement issued earlier, he said that Nissan welcomed Renault’s management changes, and that both companies had long respected each other’s identity and autonomy. “It’s important to re-establish calm after the extraordinary events that we’ve all just been through,” Mr. Senard said in a brief appearance Thursday with Mr. Bolloré at Renault headquarters in Paris. Keeping the alliance together “is essential,” he added.
“These mutually beneficial activities will not change in any way; in fact, we believe they need to accelerate,” Mr. Saikawa said in the statement. “We are very pleased to be able to open a new chapter in our historic partnership.” Renault, which depends on Nissan for financial contributions, is especially eager to have a say over who Nissan’s next chairman will be; Mr. Ghosn was stripped of that role after his arrest. Renault is likely to propose Mr. Senard, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Renault, which holds a 43 percent stake in Nissan and depends on the Japanese carmaker for financial contributions, is especially eager to have a say over who Nissan’s next chairman will be, after Mr. Ghosn was stripped of that position. Nissan’s chief executive, Hiroto Saikawa, said he hoped to hold talks with the new Renault leadership as early as possible. “I think we will be able to hold big, forward-looking discussions,” he said at a late-night news conference at Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan.
Though no longer in his leadership positions, Mr. Ghosn remains on the boards of Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault, and can be removed only by shareholder votes that are scheduled to be held in the coming months. But Mr. Saikawa also made clear that Nissan did not intend to be overshadowed by its French partner. “As the company with the biggest corporate footprint, I’d like Nissan to take a more active role in the alliance,” he said.
Renault urged Nissan last month to hold a special shareholders’ meeting to discuss the French automaker’s representation in the Japanese firm. But Mr. Saikawa rejected the call, emphasizing the need to strengthen the company’s governance first. He added that Nissan didn’t regard Renault’s 43 percent stake as a right to dictate policy in the alliance. “Whether the alliance is generating value, the yardstick is not to be seen from the shareholding ratio,” Mr. Saikawa said.
On Thursday, Nissan said in a statement that it was preparing to hold such a meeting in mid-April. “The agenda is to be limited to the discharge of directors Carlos Ghosn and Greg Kelly, and the appointment of a new director to be nominated by Renault,” the statement said. Mr. Kelly, a top aide to Mr. Ghosn at Nissan, was indicted on charges of having helped his boss conceal income. Nissan will hold a meeting in mid-April to discuss the appointment of new directors to the board, including the replacement for Mr. Ghosn, the company said in a statement Thursday. “The agenda is to be limited to the discharge of directors Carlos Ghosn and Greg Kelly, and the appointment of a new director to be nominated by Renault,” the statement said.
Mr. Saikawa denied at the news briefing that Nissan was dragging its feet or seeking to exclude Renault from decision-making by not holding its shareholders’ meeting sooner. Such an event requires many preparatory steps, he said, and April was the earliest possible time that Nissan could hold such a meeting. Mr. Kelly, a top aide to Mr. Ghosn at Nissan, was indicted on charges that he helped his boss conceal income.
Mr. Ghosn, a larger-than-life figure in the industry who forged a global business empire by bringing Nissan back from the edge of bankruptcy and turning Renault into a European car champion, lingers in a Tokyo jail cell after a court on Monday rejected his latest bid to be freed on bail.
Japanese prosecutors have accused him of understating his income for years and improperly transferring personal losses to Nissan’s books in 2008. He has denied all charges, and will remain imprisoned in the coming months until a trial is set.
Though no longer in his leadership positions, Mr. Ghosn remains on the boards of Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault, and can be removed only by shareholder votes.
The companies must act quickly to put their differences behind them. Together, the alliance employs about 450,000 worldwide. Renault has more than 47,000 workers in France, making it one of the country’s biggest employers.
“They need the alliance,” said Peter Wells, a professor at the Cardiff Business School in Wales who focuses on the auto industry. “The whole trend is more agglomeration.”
Mr. Wells cited the recently announced tie-up between Ford and Volkswagen to develop electric and driverless cars. “The industry is on the threshold of enormous change, and they need those economies of scale,” he said.
To move forward, analysts said, Renault should acknowledge that Nissan has become the dominant partner in terms of its position in the world car market and adjust the alliance accordingly. The trick will be to find a new balance of power acceptable to the Japanese and French governments as well as shareholders and company management.
“This is as much a political process as it is corporate,” Mr. Wells said.
Renault previously signaled that it wanted to pursue closer financial ties with Nissan, with Mr. Ghosn at one point considering a merger, an impulse that Nissan has opposed. Mr. Saikawa has said Nissan’s preference is to even out the shareholding structure — to increase its holdings in Renault and reduce Renault’s holdings in Nissan.
That issue is not on the table “for the moment,” the French finance minister, Bruno LeMaire, said Thursday in an interview on BFM television from Davos, Switzerland.
But even if it comes up for discussion later, Renault is not inclined to change the shareholding structure, according to the person with knowledge of the situation. For now, at least, Renault considers its larger stake to be a source of protection for Nissan at a time when the Japanese automaker’s performance and operating margin have slipped, the person said.
Mr. LeMaire sought to play down tensions between the automakers, saying in the television interview that it was important that Nissan move forward at the April meeting.
Mr. Saikawa denied at the news briefing that Nissan was seeking to exclude Renault from decision-making by not holding the meeting sooner. Such an event requires many preparatory steps, he said, and April is the earliest possible time.
“We are absolutely not seeking to delay,” he said.“We are absolutely not seeking to delay,” he said.
The French government, the biggest shareholder in Renault, also sought to play down tensions between the automakers on Thursday. The finance minister, Bruno LeMaire, said in an interview on BFM television from Davos, Switzerland, that it was important that Nissan move forward at the April meeting. Strengthening the alliance was a top priority, he added, along with maintaining stability and jobs. Mr. LeMaire said strengthening the alliance was a top priority, along with maintaining stability and jobs.
“What counts are hundreds of thousands of jobs, and how Renault can continue to be a global leader, especially for electric vehicles,” Mr. LeMaire said. He declined to comment on whether Renault would promote Mr. Senard, the new Renault chairman, to fill Mr. Ghosn’s former role as chairman at Nissan. “What counts are hundreds of thousands of jobs, and how Renault can continue to be a global leader, especially for electric vehicles,” he said.
The French government has signaled that it wants closer financial ties with Nissan, the alliance’s dominant performer.
Nissan, which holds a 15 percent nonvoting stake in Renault, has made clear that it is opposed to Renault taking greater power in the alliance. Mr. Saikawa has said several times in recent months that he would like to rebalance the shareholdings, although he has recently refrained from pressing the point publicly.
Mr. LeMaire said in the Thursday interview that the question was not on the table “for the moment.”