Renault appoints new leadership as imprisoned Ghosn resigns

Carlos Ghosn, who is currently stuck in a Tokyo jail, has quit from his top job at Renault, France’s finance minister revealed to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The carmaker has already named new chiefs.

“Carlos Ghosn just resigned last night and now it’s time to define and put a new governance in place,” Bruno Le Maire said in an interview on Thursday. He added that the future of the French company and its alliance with Japan’s Nissan is now the most important thing. 

Later, the company confirmed the resignation as its board of directors convened to announce the replacement for the 64-year-old former chairman and chief executive officer. Renault separated the two offices, appointing French industrialist and Michelin head Jean-Dominique Senard as its new chairman, and Thierry Bollore as CEO.

Renault’s board said it has “confidence in the new leadership,” according to a statement.

After his appointment, 65-year-old Senard said he aims to cement Renault’s partnership with Japanese peers Nissan and Mitsubishi, as the companies were at loggerheads since the scandalous Ghosn arrest, over suspected financial misconduct, last year.

“It’s important that this alliance remain extremely strong,” Senard told reporters at a news conference. “It is our compulsory duty to go forward together.”

Ghosn had been already ousted by both of the alliance’s other members Nissan and Mitsubishi. Nissan, the company he saved from the brink of financial collapse nearly two decades ago, has already welcomed the appointment of the new Renault leadership.

“This is a first step as we turn a page in the alliance,” Nissan’s chief executive Hiroto Saikawa stated on Thursday.

The Brazil-born Frenchman has been detained for more than two months in Japan. He denies the charges against him and says he wants restore his good name. Ghosn’s request for bail was rejected again by Japanese prosecutors on Tuesday despite his pledge not to flee Japan and to wear an electronic ankle tag.

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