Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi CEOs to share top job at Alliance

The chiefs of the Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi have agreed to share the role of CEO of the Alliance.

Hiroto Saikawa, CEO of Nissan, told Bloomberg and other news outlets after a meeting of the Alliance's board in Amsterdam: “We were able to confirm that the three of us would take the lead, which was excellent".

He described their first meeting after the arrest of Carlos Ghosn as "extremely good", and said all three CEOs were "completely aligned on direction".

According to Bloomberg, the Alliance's structure and future board members were not discussed.

Under current rules Renault has the right to appoint the CEO and chairman, with Nissan picking the vice president. Rumours persist Nissan is unhappy at its junior role in the Alliance because it generates more income and sales than its French partner.

The leadership of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance has been in doubt ever since Ghosn was arrested last week after an internal investigation revealed he was guilty of misusing corporate investment funds and company expenses, as well as understating his income in stock exchange filings.

Above: Carlos Ghosn.

Prior to his arrest he was the CEO of Renault, chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi, and chairman and CEO of the Alliance.

Since then he has been stripped of his chairmanship of both Nissan and Mitsubishi. At Renault he has been replaced on an interim basis by chief operating officer Thierry Bollore.

A letter signed by all three chiefs stated: “The alliance is not national, but global, and requires not a few individuals, but our entire team to deliver. We are confident that we can rely even more on the alliance, based on the solid foundations built by the dedication of all since 1999."

All three automakers also issued a statement: "Over the past few days, the Board of Directors of Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation have all – individually and collectively - emphatically reiterated their strong commitment to the Alliance.

"The Alliance has achieved unparalleled success in the past two decades.

"We remain fully committed to the Alliance."

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