This time, after Ghosn is indeed launched at Renault. The Tokyo court refused Tuesday to release the Renault CEO in detention on bail , the board of directors The Diamond will finally seize the question of governance. The only unknown remaining to rise on Tuesday night, the result of the appeal filed by the lawyers of the Franco-Brazilian boss.
According to our information, if the decision of the court is confirmed on appeal, a meeting of the council should be held very quickly, this weekend, after the holding of committees ad hoc (appointments, remunerations, etc). “We must move forward now, because every day is wasting time and value of Renault,” insists a good connoisseur of the file. Two firms were mandated to nominate external candidates, Korn Ferry and Emeric Lepoutre & Partners.
Presumption of innocence
So far, while the arrest of Carlos Ghosn dates back to November 19, the council had been dithering pending judicial developments in Japan. “It was to respect the presumption of innocence and the principle of contradictory procedure,” says a government source. Since the end of his detention on January 11, Carlos Ghosn has been in custody, a change of status that allows the directors to take a new step.
“If, and only if, Carlos Ghosn is prevented, we will draw the consequences,” said the Minister of Economy, Bruno Mayor about ten days ago. This is now the case. As a 15% shareholder in Renault, the State has two representatives on the board and is very involved in the matter. “Bruno Le Maire spends between one and three hours a day,” says one of his relatives, recalling however that the decisions are under the advice of the builder. The words of Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa who insisted in “Les Echos” on his commitment to the Alliance without any desire to reverse the equilibrium in the presence, were also able to reassure in Paris.
Mourning not finished
To this day, the boss of Michelin, Jean-Dominique Senard, holds the rope for the presidency . The 66-year-old leader, who must hand over at the manufacturer in May, ticks the boxes. The question is more open about the general direction. If Thierry Bolloré, current managing director of Losange, is one of the possible candidates, it is not the only one. Several other names, including that of Didier Leroy, Toyota’s number two, are on the list.
Even if some within the executive express a desire to move quickly, the file remains complex. “We must ensure that governance will indeed be legitimate in the eyes of the Japanese, and that the two groups can continue to work together in a relationship of trust,” tempers a government source. “In addition, the management of Renault still seems in denial, their work of mourning is not over yet …”, provides another source close to the file. Difficult to turn the page of fourteen years of reign of Carlos Ghosn.