FLEETDRIVE business norms like keiretsu,“ an interwoven web of parts suppliers with cross-holdings in Nissan.” Under Ghosn, promotions were no longer based on age or seniority and lifetime employment was no longer a guarantee, but a goal to strive for.
The revival plan proved successful when Nissan reported a consolidated net profit of USD 2.7 billion( AUD 4.2 billion) a year later. Furthermore, the revival plan pushed Nissan to become one of the most profitable companies in the industry within 3 years, consistently sustaining profit margins over 9 %.
Ghosn’ s takeover was successful, to say the least, and not soon after all his goals were accomplished, the CEO launched his next plan,“ Nissan 180.” From this point onwards, Ghosn led Nissan back to being one of the world’ s largest automotive manufacturers and even invested in EVs as early as 2007.
In one of his final major moves, Ghosn brought Mitsubishi into the Nissan-Renault alliance in 2016 before stepping down as CEO in April 2017.
ARREST AND ESCAPE
Ghosn landed in Tokyo’ s Haneda airport in November 18, surprised to find prosecutors waiting to arrest him as soon as he set foot on the ground. Senior executives at Nissan accused their ex-CEO of financial misconduct, allegedly misrepresenting his salary and receiving more than what was reported. There is also an additional allegation of Ghosn using Nissan’ s company assets for his personal use, like using company money to travel the world and stay at luxurious accommodations.
Nissan, Renault, and its employees weren’ t too happy about their“ superstar CEO” jet-setting around the world on company dime and receiving a large pay package.
Bob Pickard, a communications professional who worked closely with Nissan, shared his analysis with Campaign:“[...] there always was an undercurrent of resentment about Ghosn, whose celebrity CEO status and superstar pay package rankled the rank-and-file who were culturally accustomed to a more self-effacing collectivist approach, with a less swashbuckling, individualistic style from the leader.”
According to NPR, Ghosn’ s large salary made him stick out like a sore thumb, which, if you’ re familiar with Japanese culture, drew more negative attention than positive. The same article says that Japan requires CEOs to publicly disclose their salaries. In 2010 alone, Ghosn made USD 10 million( AUD 15.5 million), a world of a difference from Toyota’ s then-CEO who made even less than a USD 1 million( AUD 1.5 million).
The allegations were founded on information provided by Nissan, particularly Ghosn’ s chief of staff, Hari Nada. Ghosn thought of these accusations as part of a coup to unseat him and block a merger between Nissan and Renault, which he alleges would have given Renault power over their Japanese partner. He claims the plan was orchestrated by Nada, his successor Hiroto Saikawa, and Japanese government officials. Both Nissan and Saikawa refuted these claims.
Further details about Ghosn’ s financial crimes at Nissan remain murky. Most sources simply chalk up his misdeeds to“ financial misconduct” and“ intentionally [ committing ] serious misconduct and significant violations of corporate ethics.”
In an article by the BBC, Ravinder Passi, one
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