Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn said the automaker is in a "state of emergency" and signaled he would be willing to return as chief executive officer, arguing that only a true decision-maker in the CEO role could rescue the company.
In an interview with Reuters, Ghosn said he could strongly sense the anger and frustration of some shareholders who have called for his return. He criticized Nissan's successive management teams since his dismissal in 2018, saying they had eroded the company's value and left it without direction.
"You can feel the anger and the frustration of the shareholders, or at least some of them who were present," Ghosn said. He said Nissan had gone through three CEOs, each arriving with a revival plan, but none had produced results that would satisfy or convince shareholders that management was doing a good job.
Ghosn said it was only natural for some investors to ask why the company should not bring back the person who had previously turned Nissan around and managed it for 19 years "with absolutely no hiccup."
"The only job to save the company is a CEO job," he said. "It has to be somebody who is really the decision maker."
Ghosn said Nissan needs to pursue offensive measures, growth and profitability, and argued that his experience makes him the profile best suited to lead such a turnaround. "If there is one person or one profile today who can make it happen, it's mine," he said. "I'm not saying it because I'm arrogant. I'm saying it because of the facts, because I've done it already once. I know the company from all the angles."
Ghosn also reflected on events before his arrest and dismissal, saying he should never have accepted a new mandate from Renault's board that was backed by the French state. "This was a big mistake," he said.
Source: 産経ニュース
