Renault to drop CEO Thierry Bollore due to Ghosn ties

Lots of movement going on in the top positions of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. The middle of the trio has only just appointed a new CEO, and now it looks more and more likely that Renault will get a new chief executive as well, replacing current incumbent Thierry Bollore.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Bollore is set to lose the job amid fears that his close ties with former CEO Carlos Ghosn could be detrimental to Renault’s alliance with Nissan, where Ghosn himself was ousted last year after his arrest over alleged financial misconduct.

French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the move is supported by both chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and the French government, the latter being a major Renault shareholder. The issue could be raised at a board meeting next Friday, October 18.

The company is expected to start a proper search for a successor soon, but while it will look both outside and within, it will likely focus on French candidates, as Renault is one of France’s most important businesses. Given that his ousting will be supported by the government, Bollore will likely be unable to challenge it.

Bollore was picked by Ghosn to be his successor, and he was promoted to chief operating officer last year. He assumed the top job in January to replace Ghosn after the latter’s arrest, but both Renault and Nissan saw him as being too close to the disgraced architect of the alliance. Bollore was also personally on bad terms with some Nissan executives.

Senard apparently sees a change of management as being necessary to strengthen the alliance. The news comes just days after Nissan appointed senior vice president Makoto Uchida to be its new CEO, replacing Hiroto Saikawa who resigned after admitting to being improperly overpaid.

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