French carmaker Renault said on Tuesday it had appointed its chief operating officer as deputy CEO to ensure day-to-day management after the arrest of chief Carlos Ghosn, who will remain chief executive.
After an emergency board meeting, Renault announced Thierry Bolloré would become deputy CEO with Ghosn “temporarily incapacitated” following his arrest Monday in Japan on financial misconduct charges.
In a statement, the carmaker's board of directors said: “At this stage, the Board is unable to comment on the evidence seemingly gathered against Mr. Ghosn by Nissan and the Japanese judicial authorities.
Ghosn not gone #Renault pic.twitter.com/dzibm0Mk1z
Axis Of Oversteer (@AxisOfOversteer) 20 November 2018
“Mr. Ghosn, temporarily incapacitated, remains Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The Board of Directors resolved to appoint Mr. Thierry Bolloré on a temporary basis as Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Mr Bolloré will therefore lead the management team of the Group, having the same powers as Mr. Carlos Ghosn.”
Renault’s Japanese partner Nissan said on Monday Ghosn would be dismissed from his position as CEO of Nissan Motor Corp.
His arrest has thrown the future of the Renault-Nissan alliance, a leading world carmaker, into question, prompting the governments of France and Japan to offer their support in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Japanese Economy Minister Hiroshige Seko said they spoke by phone and praised the alliance as "one of the greatest symbols of Franco-Japanese industrial cooperation."
The expressed "their shared wish to maintain this winning cooperation."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP)
