Fortune USA 201901-02

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FORTUNE.COM// JA N.1 .19

and turn to Ghosn for a decision, he pushed
the decision back to them,” says Rachel
Konrad, who served as the alliance’s director
of marketing communications until 2016.
“People have this inaccurate belief that he’s
this powerful executive issuing directives and
firing off orders. He’s not like that at all. He
almost always forces managers and directors
to consider the bigger picture and to accept
responsibility.”
Their backs to the wall, Ghosn and his
globe-trotting management team delivered,
and by 2003 Nissan was one of the most
profitable carmakers in the world. He was
named Renault CEO in 2005 and Nissan CEO
in 2008, the first executive to lead twoFor-
tune Global 500 companies simultaneously.
A superhero in Japan, his accomplishments
were celebrated by the media, including a
starring role in a Japanese comic book. By ac-
complishing what many had deemed impos-
sible, Ghosn established himself in the auto
industry as a miracle man.
Ford Motor Co. twice attempted to hire
him, first as chief operating officer in 2003.
Ghosn rejected the offer, insisting that he re-
quired complete authority: “Just tell Bill (Ford
Jr.) that I’m his man—provided I’m CEO and
chairman,” Ghosn told Ford’s human resourc-
es chief, according to author Bryce Hoffman
in his 2012 bookAmerican Icon.
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian was
so impressed with Ghosn’s execution of the
Nissan turnaround and management of the
alliance that in 2006 he persuaded Ghosn
over dinner in Nashville to pursue an alliance
with General Motors, the nose-diving auto
giant in which Kerkorian owned a 9.9% stake.
Kerkorian’s hidden agenda appeared to be the
insertion of Ghosn and his cost-saving ideas
into GM’s executive suite. Talks with GM
management fizzled after three months.
One of Ghosn’s few command directives,
issued to silence squabbling and resolve
indecision among executives, concerned the
Leaf battery-powered vehicle. (Some in the
company believed that their relatively short
range, high cost, and charging concerns
would deter potential customers from EVs.)
He ordered the go-ahead for the $5 billion
project in 2007 and introduced a prototype
in 2010. But EV sales have fallen short of his
projections.
As Ghosn proved himself again and again to
be the linchpin of the alliance, he also failed to
persuade investors, the media, and competitors
that he had a plan—as all mortal CEOs must—

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CARLOS GHOSN

Carlos Ghosn by the Numbers...

Languages spoken

Continents worked in

French, Portuguese, English, Arabic, and some Japanese

North America, Europe, Asia

10.6

MILLION

3.8M 5.8M

2017 cars sold

NISSAN, RENAULT, MITSUBISHI, DACIA , L ADA , INFINITI,

DATSUN, RENAULT SAMSUNG, CMC, AND ZNA

RENAULT NISSAN

SECOND-BEST-PAID

AUTO EXEC, BEHIND

GM’S MARY BARRA

$16.9M

Car companies

responsible for:

Ghosn annual

salary

11%OF ALL GLOBALCARSALES

March 1999

Alliance is inaugu-

rated under prin-

ciples set forth by

Carlos Ghosn with

Renault’s $5 billion

financial rescue of

Nissan, the former

buying 36.8% of the

latter’s stock.

October 2001

Renault increases

its stake in Nissan

to 44.4%, while

Nissan buys a 15%

stake in Renault.

2002

Renault and Nissan

create Renault-Nis-

san BV, a strategic

management com-

pany owned 50-50

by the two auto-

makers and based in

the Netherlands.

April 2006

With encourage-

ment from General

Motors shareholder

Kirk Kerkorian, the

alliance and GM

explore the pos-

sibility of strategic

cooperation. The

talks fail.

April 2010

Alliance announces

strategic coopera-

tion with Daimler AG

worth 2 billion euros

over five years.

July 2012

Alliance announces

investment of

$160 million in

Renault Samsung

Motors of South

Korea for produc-

tion of Nissan Rogue.

December 2012

Alliance becomes

controlling share-

holder of AvtoVAZ,

Russia’s largest

carmaker.

July 2013

Ghosn confirms

development of a

modular vehicle

platform to be de-

signed in India. It

becomes the first

all-new platform

designed from

scratch by Renault

and Nissan.

October 2016

Nissan buys a

one-third stake in

troubled Japa-

nese automaker

Mitsubishi Motors,

effectively adding

the automaker

to the alliance.

September 2017

Ghosn announces

“Alliance 2022,” a

six-year plan to

double annual

synergies among

alliance partners

to 10 billion euros

annually.

February 2018

Alliance announces

it has sold 10.6 mil-

lion vehicles during

the previous year,

claiming top status

as seller of light

vehicles globally.

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