Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn Considering Retiring in 2017

NissanNissanJapan, 1932 > present159 models
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says that its CEO Carlos Ghosn is considering retiring just before the company's next mid-term business plan begins in 2017. Nissan says that a successor is already in place if Ghosn decides to leave. 

"Ghosn has said this is the last mid-term plan he'll commit to, meaning he may not stay here for the next mid-term period. We need to prepare for his possible departure within a five-year period," said Nissan spokesman Koji Okuda.

Ghosn has been the head of Nissan for the last 13 years, the second-longest running currently serving automotive CEO. He took a company that was nearly bankrupt and turned it into a globally competitive auto company that is aggressively expanding into Russian and China. Losing Ghosn will be a blow for Renault-Nissan because he is such a major decisionmaker within the company. 

The current Nissan plan runs until March 2017. The plan is referred to as Power 88 that aims to have 8% profit margins and have 8% of the global market. The plan also calls for Nissan to introduce a new car every six weeks while simultaneouly cutting costs. 

Ghosn said that he will discuss his future plans more at the Nissan shareholders meeting on June 26. He intends it to be a smooth transition. Possible replacements for him are Carlos Tavares who is the current chief operations officer at Nissan and RenaultRenaultFrance, 1898 > present189 models
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Chief Financial Officer Dominique Thormann.

Ghosn got his start in the automotive indiustry by spending 18 years with Michelin and manged the company's Brazilian and North American arms. In 1996, he took over as Executive Vice President at Renault. In 1999, Renault bought a controlling stake in Nissan, and Renault put Ghosn in as cheif operating officer and later CEO.  Ghosn turned the company around and made it profiable by 2001. In 2005, he became the CEO of Renault.

Source: Automotive News