Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn will present Nissan’s next five-year plan in Tokyo this week. He’s no stranger to being in the spotlight and is frequently feted like a movie star, especially in Japan where he is seen as Nissan’s saviour.
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These days he is often mobbed by fans after his autograph and has even been portrayed as a manga comic book superhero.
This is the man who brought Nissan back from the brink in 1999 and who has been at the heart of the exploitation of synergies and efficiency gains in the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
However, Nissan’s ‘Revival Plan’ got off to an unsteady start when Ghosn lived up to his reputation as ‘Le Cost Cutter’. He was seen by some as an interfering outsider and there was initial opposition in Japan to job cuts at Nissan. But the ailing Japanese number two carmaker was slowly but surely turned around while Ghosn’s reputation – inside the company and in Japan generally – rose sharply, the sceptics won over.
Renault boss Louis Schweitzer had set him loose and he remoulded Nissan, building a formidable industrial alliance in the process. And that industrial alliance with Renault also breathed life into what was a stale looking and rather rudderless Renault facing steady market share erosion at home.
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By GlobalDataBut it’s probably fair to say he’s found the going generally tougher over the last couple of years. The whole industry has been experiencing headwinds and maybe much of the low-hanging fruit to be found in purchasing savings, cost reductions and shared engineering through the alliance has gone.
Maintaining momentum isn’t easy when expectations are very high.
Adding to the alliance is one way to carry on the good work, applying the same principles learnt in integrating Nissan and Renault systems and processes. Ghosn missed out on adding GM (in 2006), but may feel there is a developing opportunity in North America with Chrysler. There’s also the AvtoVAZ wild card. That should be an interesting challenge by any yardstick.
But besides making his industrial alliance bigger, focusing the constituent brands on margin and maxing out as far as possible in emerging markets (Logan) what else can he do to maintain growth momentum?
Is there another ‘Big Idea’ quietly churning in the mix?
Speaking at a journalists’ event in Portugal recently, he highlighted Nissan’s electric car expertise, lauding it as a competitive strength for the future. This is a subject that people are now sure to be looking at more closely when Ghosn speaks. There are a number of interesting projects ahead and he has well and truly put it on the analysts’ radar with his recent remarks.
But is the high-achieving showman keeping those high expectations managed?
See also: HOT TOPIC: Carlos Ghosn thinks electric
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Carlos Ghosn at a glance
- Born in Brazil in 1954 to Lebanese parents and raised in Lebanon.
- University education was in France where he is a citizen.
- Joined Nissan as its COO in 1999, subsequently resurrected Nissan and became a hero in Japan.
- He replaced a retiring Louis Schweitzer as CEO of Renault in 2005 and is also CEO of Nissan (‘the Gaijin with two jobs’).
- Speaks six languages, Japanese being the most recent addition (he reportedly conversed in Portuguese with Rick Wagoner during the ill-fated negotiations over GM joining the Renault-Nissan Aliiance in 2006).
- Nicknamed ‘Le Cost Cutter’ for his aggressive approach to restructuring companies.
- His auto industry career began in 1978 at Michelin and he joined Renault in 1996.
- Is said to be a workaholic who nevertheless is known for making time for his family.
Dave Leggett
