Feb 06 (Nikkei) - Nissan Motor decided Tuesday to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on April 8, where the Japanese automaker is expected to dismiss former Chairman Carlos Ghosn and his onetime deputy Greg Kelly from the board of directors.
Shareholders will also vote on a proposal to seat Jean-Dominique Senard, Renault's newly appointed chairman, on Nissan's board.
Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa expressed his hopes late Tuesday that negotiations with alliance partner Renault will advance smoothly. "Starting in April, we will have [Senard] added as a director, and we will be able to have conversations on the next step with Mr. Senard included," said Saikawa.
Nissan stripped Ghosn of his chairmanship immediately after his arrest in November. Kelly was simultaneously fired from his position of representative director. But the two remain on the board because a shareholders' vote is required to remove a board member.
Renault pressed for an extraordinary shareholders meeting almost from the start. But Nissan's board had resisted setting a date for the meeting, fearing the French partner would leverage its 43.4% stake in Nissan to force unwanted changes at the Japanese automaker. It was only after Ghosn stepped down from Renault late last month, in conjunction with an executive shuffle at the French carmaker, that Nissan began to compromise.
Saikawa met privately with Senard while representatives from the Nissan-Renault alliance gathered in Amsterdam for a regularly scheduled meeting last week. The two affirmed that they share the same understanding for maintaining the alliance, among other basic issues.
The agenda of the April shareholders meeting will be limited to Ghosn and Kelly's dismissal and Senard's appointment. This sets the stage for the debate over who will fill Nissan's vacant chairmanship, as well as the ultimate makeup of Nissan's board. Nissan's regular shareholders' meeting will take place in June.
