Carlos Ghosn, the aggressive figurehead who brought a nosediving Nissan back from the brink, is stepping down as CEO after 16 years on the job.
The industry titan will remain CEO of Renault, where he staged a similar turnaround, and will continue to serve as chairman of Nissan, Renault and lowly Mitsubishi — the latter company being added to the alliance last year. Apparently, the decision to step down was prompted by Mitsubishi’s deeply-ingrained woes. In order to work some Nissan-style magic on the struggling automaker, Ghosn needed to hand over the reins.
Meanwhile, a man who stuck with Nissan for 40 years has seen his loyalty pay off.
Ghosn named Hiroto Saikawa as his co-CEO in October. Now, the 63-year-old veteran — who was elevated to the role of chief competitive officer in 2013 — has his hand on the tiller of the company. Saikawa apparently has the same shrewd, budget-minded outlook as Ghosn, though the speed of his elevation surprised some industry observers.
“The timing is a bit surprising,” Takeshi Miyao, Asia managing director at consultancy Carnorama, told Reuters. “It appears Ghosn has decided very quickly that Saikawa is the right person to lead the company.”
Ghosn says that’s anything but the case. The departing CEO claims he’s known for a while who’s the right person for the job.
“There’s a moment when you have to pass the baton to someone else,” Ghosn told Bloomberg. “I’ve always said I would love to have a Japanese to be my successor and Saikawa-san is somebody I have been grooming for many years.”
Saikawa will take on the full responsibilities of his title come April 1.
With Nissan and Renault humming along in good shape, Ghosn will have his hands full dealing with Mitsubishi. The automaker, which handed over a 34-percent controlling stake to the alliance as a lifeline, suffered a disastrous fuel economy scandal in its home country last year. Mitsubishi revealed it had overstated gas mileage on a number of vehicles for years, forcing the resignation of president Tetsuro Aikawa. Its reputation — and its stock — plunged.
One of Ghosn’s first moves after adding the automaker to the alliance’s fold was to send Nissan’s trusted research and development head, Mitsuhiko Yamashita, to serve as Mitsubishi’s tech chief.
Rebuilding consumer confidence isn’t something that happens overnight, nor is the tedious process of developing new models based on modern architecture. Mitsubishi’s American sales base, which all but disappeared after the recession, needs rebuilding. Still, Ghosn claims “massive” changes are on the way.
[Image: Nissan]
Making Mitsubishi Great Again is a tall order. They need something distinct, not me-too.
Nissan has really ceded its early lead in EVs. The mythical Leaf 2.0 will enter the market a day late and a dollar short.
Gorgeous use of bokeh in that photo.
couldn’t agree more, wonder what lens was used..
I know nothing about digital focal lengths but were it 35mm I’d guess a nice portrait length like 90mm and f4/2.8. The depth of field is shallow but not exotically so.
Bokeh is overrated. In this case, it distracts from the subject.
Or you’re full of poo and bokeh makes the subject pop out from a potentially distracting background of high-contrast, cluttered rectangles and pupil-grabbing bright areas.
BTW I came here just to say that the headline may have changed for the GM article but the link remains the same. Therefore I cannot comment.
Thank you.
The timming is not something Carlos could have controlled. I call BS on his explanation. The internal infighting between Nissan and Renault has gotten so bad that he had to put a japanese guy in charge at Nissan.
Above all, he’s a good politician and this was the easy way out for him. IMO
He’s going to focus on the Renault Alliance? It’s about time!
I LOL’d.
@Adam Tonge
This move makes a lot of sense, as he has said there is a lot of opportunities with Mitsubishi being included. The Alliance is currently 4th just behind GM,but with the “tweaking” and the coming loss of Opel/ Vauxhall, then Nissan should charge past
Clicked on this thread to make that joke, disappointed to see I was beaten to it.
I’d make the joke again, but we don’t need an Encore. I thought it was a Premier joke. I guess I won’t be getting a Medallion.
You guys are ‘enFuego’ !
I have to say, I expected more from the headline. ‘Ghosn Girl’? ‘Ghosn With The Wind’? ‘Ghosn Out Of Style’? How can you let these opportunities slip by?
Ghosn, Ghosn, Gone!
For White Sox fans, “He Ghosn.”
I wonder if Ghosn is trying to dodge the Trump bullet on Nissan NA’s Mexican production?
It’s about time! He did nothing but cause internal conflict between the Japanese, French and Portuguese corporate divisions. Quality has worsened with a sinking model lineup. Hopefully Saikawa-san will bring back Nissan to being a Japanese tuned manufacturer.
It’s because of him Nissan still exists as a car manufacturer, you ingrate. And what’s with the JDM worship? Reminds me of car forums back in 2002.