AMSTERDAM/TOKYO: Leadership in the troubled Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance will be shared among the three companies’ CEOs.
This was disclosed by Mitsubishi boss Osamu Masuko as executives of the three car makers met in Amsterdam for the first time since chairman Carlos Ghosn’s Nov 19 arrest over misconduct allegations.
There are no plans to name an interim leader for the alliance, said Masuko.
Renault, Nissan and Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi Motors “emphatically reiterated” their commitment to the alliance but failed to name an interim boss to stand in for Ghosn.
Attempts by Renault to transfer Ghosn’s chairmanship of the Renault-Nissan board to his French deputy Thierry Bollore appeared to have foundered.
The crisis unleashed by Ghosn’s arrest has deepened as Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa seeks to end 43.4 percent-owner Renault’s grip on their alliance. Ghosn was swiftly ousted as Nissan chairman but remains at the helm of Renault.
Renault had named Bollore as deputy CEO with “the same powers” as Ghosn a day after his arrest - in a bid to maintain the continuity of its leadership of the alliance.
Under its 2002 master agreement, the alliance is chaired by the sitting chief executive of Renault, a post still held by Ghosn. Nissan’s reciprocal 15 percent stake in its French parent currently has no voting rights.
Changes to the alliance ownership structure were not discussed, Masuko said in Japan after joining the meeting by video link. Saikawa and Bollore also participated remotely.
Ghosn, 64, and alleged co-conspirator Greg Kelly, a fellow Nissan director, were arrested in Tokyo over financial misconduct allegations after a Nissan investigation sparked by a whistleblower.
Both deny accusations that they under-reported Ghosn’s compensation, misrepresented Nissan investments and made personal use of company funds.
