Renault's Struggles Put CEO On the Spot With Its Board -- WSJ
October 11 2019 - 03:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (October 11, 2019).
PARIS -- Renault SA's board is planning a vote Friday on whether
to remove Chief Executive Thierry Bolloré amid concerns over the
car maker's performance and its tense relationship with Nissan
Motor Co., its partner in a globe-spanning alliance, according to
people familiar with the matter.
Renault said in a statement that its board would meet "to
discuss the corporate governance of the group." A spokeswoman
declined to comment further.
Mr. Bolloré, who took the top job at Renault after the arrest of
then-CEO Carlos Ghosn late last year, addressed his future at the
French auto maker in a gathering of company employees on Thursday,
according to people who attended the question-and-answer
session.
"It's not up to me to talk about it. The board deals with
governance," Mr. Bolloré said, according to one of those
people.
The executive didn't respond to a request for comment on
Thursday.
The Renault-Nissan alliance has been in upheaval since the
arrest of Mr. Ghosn, who once headed both companies. The Japanese
car maker recently replaced Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa, a
longtime lieutenant of Mr. Ghosn, with a triumvirate of
executives.
Mr. Ghosn was charged in Japan with financial misconduct. He has
said he is innocent.
Mr. Bolloré, who was serving as deputy CEO, was swiftly tapped
to steady the ship at Renault in Mr. Ghosn's absence, but he has
struggled to heal the divide with Nissan.
The French state, which is Renault's largest shareholder, has
been pushing Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard to turn the
page on the Ghosn era, according to people familiar with the
matter. Mr. Senard has begun to question whether Mr. Bolloré is too
divisive a figure as the chairman tries to mend relations with
Nissan and get it to agree to a deepening of the alliance, one of
these people said.
Nissan executives believe Mr. Bolloré dragged his feet in
assisting its investigation into Mr. Ghosn's tenure, according to
people familiar with their thinking. Also, his rocky relationship
with Nissan's leadership hasn't helped in resolving contentious
issues, including the Japanese company's demand that Renault
rebalance the cross-shareholding underlying the alliance. Renault
owns 43.4% of Nissan, while the Japanese car maker owns a 15% stake
in Renault without voting rights.
Some people close to Renault cautioned that any push to remove
Mr. Bolloré risks further destabilizing the French car maker.
"If anyone with the Ghosn label gets removed, we're going to
decimate ourselves in terms of governance," one of the people
said.
Earlier this year, Renault was involved in a protracted merger
dance with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, but a deal fell apart
after the two car makers failed to secure the explicit support of
Nissan. The merger negotiations were led by Mr. Senard, who came
over from Michelin to take the chairmanship at Renault early this
year.
In July, Renault cut its revenue outlook for 2019 in the face of
falling sales in France, Turkey and Argentina, as well as a decline
in demand for diesel engines in Europe.
If Mr. Bolloré were to be ousted, Renault would likely name an
interim CEO while searching for a permanent successor, according to
people familiar with the matter. Clotilde Delbos, the company's
chief financial officer, could be tapped to stand in as chief
executive, one of these people said.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 11, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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