Personnel Articles

RENAULT has “ended the mandate” of chief executive Thierry Bollore and appointed chief financial officer Clotilde Delbos as interim CEO with immediate effect as the French manufacturer cuts ties with another close ally of its former chief, Carlos Ghosn.

The decision to suddenly replace Mr Bollore is widely seen as a move to wipe the slate clean in the post-Ghosn era and improve relations with alliance partner Nissan, which has just announced that Makoto Uchida will slide into the top role to replace Hiroto Saikawa before the end of this year.

Mr Bollore was appointed chief operating officer and 2IC to Mr Ghosn in February last year, and was promoted to deputy chief executive in November 2018 after Mr Ghosn, who at that time continued as both chairman of the board and CEO, was arrested in Japan for alleged financial misconduct.

Mr Bollore was confirmed as CEO in January this year, while Jean-Dominique Senard came in as chairman from French tyre giant Michelin as Mr Ghosn resigned from his terms of office.

As GoAuto has reported, Mr Ghosn, who also relinquished his equivalent responsibilities at Nissan, is currently under house arrest on bail in Tokyo ahead of his case being heard next year.

Renault issued a brief statement announcing the immediate departure of Mr Bollore and the promotion of Ms Delbos, who will be assisted by global sales chief Olivier Murguet and manufacturing stalwart Jose-Vicente de los Mozos.

Overseas reports indicate that Mr Bollore refused to resign and forced the Renault board, led by Mr Senard, to vote him out, with three of the 18 directors abstaining from the vote while the remainder supported the move.

The French government, which is Renault’s largest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake, had also reportedly pushed for the change in leadership.

French newspaper Les Echos quoted Mr Bollore as saying, ahead of the board meeting, that “the brutality and the totally unexpected character of what is happening are stupefying”.

At a press conference, Mr Senard said the alliance “needs a breath of fresh air” and that the decision to oust Mr Bollore was “nothing personal”.

Ms Delbos has worked for Renault since 2012, joining as group controller before adding responsibility for the entire global alliance two years later. She was appointed CFO in 2016.

Mr Murguet has spent almost three decades at the French car-maker, holding a range of senior sales and marketing roles before rising to chief executive of Groupe Renault in Brazil in 2012. Three years later he was appointed chairman for the Americas region, and in November last year became executive vice-president of sales and regions for Renault worldwide.

Mr de los Mozos is another Renault-Nissan veteran, joining in 1978 as an engineer and working across various positions at its assembly plants in Spain as well as its engineering headquarters in France. He served as managing director of Nissan Motor Iberica, vice-president of Nissan and later Renault’s manufacturing operations in Spain as well as CEO of Renault Spain.

In 2013, Mr de los Mozos was appointed executive vice-president in charge of manufacturing and supply chain for Groupe Renault, taking on extra responsibility in April 2018 as deputy alliance vice-president of manufacturing and supply chain operations.

By Neil Dowling

Manheim
Gumtree
Manheim
Manheim
Gumtree
PitcherPartners
MotorOne
AdTorque Edge
DealerCell
Schmick