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Carlos Ghosn
CEO of Nissan-Renault
The Global Leadership
and Turnaround CEO
Company Profile
Industry: Auto
Manufacturing
Employees: 150,000
Revenues: $83B
Market Cap: $36B
A Special CEO Honor
20 www.ceoqmagazine.com | Q4 / 2010
CEO Awards
Most Respected CEOs
Carlos Ghosn
Nissan-Renault
Carlos Ghosn receives CEO Q
top honor and leads the list of
the Most Respected CEOs for
2010. This honor is given to him
for his legendary turnaround of
Nissan Motor Co. and his global
leadership success against all
odds.
The CEO Challenge
1. From 1993-1999 Nissan
global operations suffered 7
years of losses. Credit rating
services threatened to lower
their status from “investment
grade” to “junk”.
2. At the same time, Asia was
in the middle of the worst
financial crisis.
3. Carlos was asked to manage
the turnaround of Nissan,
based on his reputation of
cost-cutting at Renault (A
French car company).
4. The company has formidable
financial and operational
challenges, both in scale and
complexity
5. Everyone hates change.
Changing a global giant is
even more difficult.
6. Mr Ghosn was born to
Lebanese parents in
Brazil, educated in France,
considered a gaijin (alien)
in a society that suspects
foreigners, and he does not
speak Japanese!
CEO Achievements
Ghosn executed the Nissan
Revival Plan (NRP) by cutting
costs and increasing revenues at
the same time. He turned around
Nissan to profitability in less
than 18 months and achieved
the best financial performance
in the company’s history. Nissan
became the car manufacturer
that grew the most, not only
in growth rate but in absolute
numbers too.
In fiscal year 2009, Nissan
made a profit while most other
automakers were losing money.
Obama’s administration asked
Mr. Ghosn to run General Motors
Corp. but Ghosn declined the
request in order to focus on
building Nissan-Renault. In
2010, the Renault-Nissan Alliance became the
first to mass-market, affordable zero-emission
vehicles (Nissan LEAF). Vehicle pre-orders in
the U.S. and Japan have already surpassed
the available production capacity for fiscal year
2010.
CEOs can learn a lot from Ghosn, whether
they are seeking growth through innovation,
executing a turnaround plan or leading in the
global economy.
CEO Bio
Carlos Ghosn is the president and CEO of
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., a global automotive
company with 180,000 employees and $83
billion in revenues. Mr. Ghosn joined the
company as its COO in June 1999, became its
president in June 2000 and was named CEO in
June 2001.
In May 2005, Mr. Ghosn became the president
and CEO of Renault S.A. in addition to his
current responsibilities at Nissan. As head
of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Mr. Ghosn is
responsible for two separate companies with
combined annual global sales of 6.1 million
vehicles. Mr. Ghosn currently serves on the
board of directors of Alcoa.
Prior to joining Nissan, Mr. Ghosn served as
EVP of the Renault Group, since December
1996. He was responsible for advanced
research, car engineering and development,
car manufacturing, powertrain operations and
purchasing. Before he joined Renault, Mr.
Ghosn had worked with Michelin for 18 years. As
chairman and CEO of Michelin North America,
Mr. Ghosn presided over the restructuring of
the company after its acquisition of the Uniroyal
Goodrich Tire Company in 1990. Previously, Mr.
Ghosn had worked as the COO of Michelin’s
South America based in Brazil; as head of
research and development for industrial tires
in Ladoux, France; and as plant manager in Le
Puy, France.
Mr. Ghosn was born in Brazil on March 9,
1954 to Lebanese parents. He graduated with
engineering degrees from École Polytechnique
in 1974 and from École des Mines de Paris in
1978.
CEO Insights
It sometimes seems to me the North Americans,
Europeans and Japanese working here are
becoming more alike than they are different
China will be the answer to Japan’s
problems
In the car industry, superior design is critical.
Product design defines the first impression the
customer has about our products. With one
look the customer makes their decision about
their appeal. Of course, an attractive design is
not enough to make a product a success, but it
is necessary
We don’t know where the markets are
going, ... We have to observe what’s
going down, see the trends, look at every
vibration on the market, prepare the
technology and jump when consumers
start to think one way or the other
Fiscal year 2009 was a challenging year
in the global economy and in the global
automotive industry...While we have
managed through the financial crisis and
recession, we have not compromised
our strategic priorities. For example,
we have not slowed our investments to
contribute to a zero-emission society.
When the Nissan LEAF goes on sale this
year, the Renault-Nissan Alliance will be
the first to mass-market affordable zeroemission
vehicles.
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