Gambler Ghosn: Has Japan got rid of the "victim" of the French government?

[? A billion euro guide? ]? Ghosn finally put down his pride like a lion.

Author Zeng Zeng? happy

Editor Yang Yaru

An almost "perfect" escape plan pushed the 65-year-old entrepreneur into the spotlight again.

Before the press conference, carlos ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan Motor Company, seemed to have morbid eyebrows. After thinking about it, he asked the staff: "Can the press conference start ahead of time?" When the request was rejected, Ghosn rested his hands on her hips and fell into a moment of thinking again. Later, Ghosn asked, "Can we start early?" The staff replied, "Please wait another five minutes."

At the end of 20 19, the most dramatic scene happened, comparable to the "annual drama". Ghosn managed to escape under his nose, so that many civil servants during the most important New Year holiday in Japan were completely destroyed by a "Frenchman".

"I am in Lebanon." -20 19 12 3 1, Ghosn suddenly made a statement, which made the whole thing confusing. Ghosn set the time to uncover a series of suspected events and escape the mystery at 65438+1October 8. Ghosn waited for this press conference for 4 16 days, and was naturally regarded as "an opportunity to communicate openly and freely with the media". Before the press conference, he seemed to be more anxious than anyone else.

At the meeting, Ghosn did not elaborate on the detailed process of escape, but put more words on "Why did you leave?" Regarding this complicated arrest, Ghosn pointed directly at the Japanese prosecutor, saying that "all the allegations are completely defamation and an organized conspiracy".

In fact, before the press conference was officially held, Ghosn issued a statement through his lawyer, criticizing Nissan, accusing the company of using a "flawed and biased" internal investigation to plan the arrest to prevent him from more closely integrating Nissan and its French alliance partner Renault.

From "savior" to "fugitive", Ghosn experienced the ups and downs of "from heaven to hell" after 20 years. Behind this incident, it is not only the relationship between Ghosn and Nissan on the surface, but also the complex interest struggle behind it.

0 1? "The End of Heroes": The Short Freedom of Runaways

What made Ghosn finally put down his pride like a lion and chose to escape from Japan?

Ghosn said that on the first day of his arrest, he was forced to confess by the prosecutor. He regarded the arrest as "Pearl Harbor Incident". At the press conference, he even angered that Japan's prosecution system was entirely decided by individuals, and said that Nissan executives and the plaintiff in this lawsuit completely defiled Japan's own judicial system.

According to Ghosn, Toyota Zhenghe, a member of Nissan's board of directors, the prosecutor of the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office and the law firm appointed by Nissan Motor Company organized the conspiracy.

As rumored by the outside world, Ghosn believes that having the identity of Renault and Nissan at the same time has made him "framed" by Japan. Ghosn said that the French government had hoped to increase Renault's shares in Nissan, but this incident caused Japanese dissatisfaction. Not only is Nissan's leadership unwilling to accept it, but the pressure on the French side has also expanded. As a result, an unequal relationship gradually emerged, which also made the Japanese side more and more dissatisfied. Therefore, Ghosn thinks that he has become a "victim" for Japan to get rid of the French government.

In addition to talking about what he thought was Japan's "conspiracy theory", Ghosn also responded to four charges, namely, concealing huge personal income, misappropriating company funds, and transferring personal investment losses to the company, allegedly violating the Financial Commodities Trading Law and the Company Law.

Regarding the main crime of "concealing income", Ghosn said: "If foreign directors want to pay their remuneration through exchange rate contracts, everyone will vote for this resolution, which will neither bring additional costs nor losses to the company. We had a contract at the time. "

When talking about the accusation of "CEO reserve expenditure", Ghosn responded that "CEO reserve expenditure has a corresponding process, which needs to be signed by the legal department, the prosecutor and the chief operating officer, and finally confirmed by me. Every payment of CEO's reserve fund should follow this process. I am not the only one who signed it. "

As for the free use of Versailles for banquets in 20 16, Ghosn said, "Renault is a big customer of Versailles and invested 1 10,000 euros. In order to express our gratitude, Versailles promised us to use it for free. " Ghosn seems to be a little "dumbfounding" about the accusation that he owns many properties around the world, claiming that these properties are owned by Nissan, not secretly.

"I have made such a great contribution to Nissan, but now I am called a cold-blooded and greedy dictator." Ghosn said that he had initiated a counterclaim, although only 0.6% of such counterclaims were accepted in Japan.

After the whole press conference, completely denying guilt was the most common sentence Ghosn said at the press conference. In the future, Ghosn will continue to fight for his innocence. In any case, Ghosn finally gained a short-term freedom as a "fugitive".

02? Gambler Ghosn: the "highlight moment" of three car companies

"The CEO must have the talent of a gambler," Ghosn once said in his first autobiography, Extreme Control: Nissan's "Renaissance".

Born in an immigrant family in Lebanon, Ghosn vividly demonstrated the shrewdness, determination and profitability of businessmen. Ghosn's ability first appeared in Michelin, Europe's largest automobile tire manufacturer. 1978 In March, 24-year-old Ghosn joined Michelin Tire Company. 1 1 years later, Ghosn became the CEO of Michelin Tire in North America with his long-term career, and completed the expansion of Michelin in the North American market. There, Ghosn won the honor of "cost killer".

Ghosn, who didn't stop at the splendor, realized: "If I can't climb higher, will I be happy to keep this position forever?" I'm not sure. Therefore, in 1996, Ghosn, who thought that "cars are more attractive than tires", chose to move to Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, and became the vice president of Renault Automobile Company, responsible for supervising manufacturing, procurement and research and development, shouldering the heavy responsibility of "revitalizing Renault".

After Nissan's experience, Ghosn told more new stories.

Nissan Bluebird/Nissan official website

At the end of the 20th century, Nissan, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, was caught in a huge debt dilemma, with a loss of 6 1 billion dollars. 1999, "Savior" Renault appeared and spent $5.4 billion to acquire a 36.8% stake in Nissan. After Renault completed the equity acquisition of Nissan, Ghosn took over Nissan and became CEO.

After entering Nissan, Ghosn rescued this bankrupt enterprise from the brink of life and death through a series of reforms. According to media statistics, through the "Nissan Revitalization Plan", in terms of management, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. closed five factories and laid off 265,438+0,000 people in three years, which broke through the shortcomings of Japanese enterprises' emphasis on pursuing "business scale growth", thus reducing sales and management costs by 20%. In the supply chain, Ghosn reduced the number of parts suppliers with a daily output of 65,438+0,300 to more than 600, which improved the situation that thousands of suppliers were allowed to drive up prices and be trampled upon by others.

In addition, Ghosn abandoned the management rules and culture such as "lifelong employment" that Nissan used to follow, re-formulated the salary plan and incentive policy, and announced that the company would assess employees with strict financial objectives. However, Ghosn's move caused many Japanese employees to go bankrupt or even commit suicide. Some Japanese media once commented: "Ghosn's success is the ruin of tens of thousands of ordinary Japanese families."

Under Ghosn's series of drastic reforms, Nissan finally ushered in a "new life". Data show that in fiscal year 2000, Nissan made a profit of $2.7 billion; In fiscal year 20001,the company turned losses into profits, and its comprehensive operating profit rose to $3.92 billion.

In order to strengthen the alliance relationship between the two parties, Nissan purchased a 0/5% stake in Renault/Kloc-0 in 200/year. At this point, Renault and Nissan achieved cross-shareholding and formed the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Four years later, Nissan achieved the goal of annual sales of 6.5438+0 million vehicles. Also in this year, Ghosn became the ninth CEO of Renault Automobile Company. As a result, Ghosn became the dual CEO of Renault and Nissan at the same time.

Just one year later, at 20 16, 10, Nissan acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors for 237.35 billion yen, and Ghosn became the chairman of Mitsubishi Motors. At the same time, Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance was established, becoming the fourth largest automobile group in the world that year, and Ghosn became the chairman of the automobile alliance. Similarly, in just one year, in 20 17 years, Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance surpassed Toyota and Volkswagen in sales of 10608300 vehicles and quickly became the largest automobile group in the world.

For Ghosn, the battle of Nissan can be described as "success is also Nissan, and failure is also Nissan". If it weren't for Nissan's tip-off, the story about Ghosn might only be remembered as a "highlight moment".

03? Interests: Whose fig leaf has been uncovered?

Ghosn's hand-picked Nissan helmsman Hiroyuki Nishikawa personally sent Ghosn to prison.

On 20th18165438+1October19th, Ghosn, then chairman of Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, went to Lebanon and Japan as usual, and flew from Lebanon to Nidong by the alliance business jet with the tail number of NI55AN. On this day, he will have dinner with his daughter in Tokyo, and plans to chair the board meeting the next day. Without warning, Ghosn was greeted by Japanese prosecutors when the plane landed at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan.

Then, Ghosn, who was caught off guard, was arrested by the special search department of the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office. Japanese prosecutors believe that from 20 10 to 20 15, Ghosn understated his income by 5 billion yen, and there were many other irregularities.

Subsequently, Hirohito Nishikawa confirmed at the press conference that Ghosn had three illegal acts: underreporting the amount of remuneration, using investment funds for private purposes, and using funds for private purposes. In the announcement, the board of directors agreed to dismiss Ghosn as chairman and representative director of Nissan.

As early as before, Hirohito Nishikawa and Ghosn publicly reprimanded each other many times, which has already laid the groundwork for their discord. However, Ghosn does not admit his "corruption". In the face of many accusations, Ghosn said that he completely denied it and accused Nissan executives of plotting a "coup."

And this series of things seems to happen without warning. Within Nissan, Ghosn's "savior" image once changed, and everyone's views on Ghosn were also different. Some people thought Ghosn had changed. Especially when managing Renault and Nissan at the same time, the impression of centralization has been formed. On the one hand, Renault, a French company with a large stake in the French government, and on the other hand, Nissan, a rising Japanese company. Ghosn's responsibilities on both sides will inevitably lead to his inability to fully preside over Nissan's work, which also makes Ghosn surrounded by some once amiable car dealers.

In the later management style, Ghosn's style became more and more obvious. The British "Financial Times" once reported that "few people in enterprises will publicly criticize Ghosn because people are worried about retaliation for inconsistent corporate culture concepts."

All the changes were foreshadowed from this moment, and now it has become the talk of the whole thing.

04? Ghosn's exit: a result without victory

For Nissan, after Ghosn's departure, it is quite dramatic that as an "anti-corruption pioneer" who brought Ghosn down, Nishikawa Hiroshi was officially "dismissed" on September 19 for allegedly concealing his salary.

201910/October 8th, according to the Nikkei Business News, Nissan has chosen Makoto from six candidates. Uchida) became the new CEO of the company. After three years as CEO, Nissan seems to be caught in an ice cave of high-level scandals.

Today, Nissan is also caught in internal and external troubles. The financial report shows that in fiscal year 20 18, Nissan's global sales volume was 5510.6 million units, down 4.4% year-on-year. In addition, Nissan predicted that the annual net profit in fiscal year 20 19 would be reduced by 47% to170 billion yen, and the global output would be reduced by 15%, which would be the biggest production reduction in Nissan 10 years. Of course, this is also closely related to the harsh environment of the global automobile market.

Today's Nissan is facing the embarrassing situation of reversing the sharp decline in the profits of its parent company and dealing with the new cross-shareholding problem with Renault. These are no small tests for Uchida.

According to the latest news, Reuters quoted three people familiar with the matter as saying that Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has strengthened a special working group composed of high-level officials to cope with the fierce criticism brought by former chairman Ghosn's flight from Tokyo.

On the other hand, after Ghosn was arrested, the tension between Nissan and Renault continued to deteriorate. According to Ghosn, after his arrest, the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance lost 20 million euros a day and accumulated 5 billion euros.

Ghosn, who became "kicked out", seems quite unwilling. "They said,' Turn Ghosn's time around'. Now it seems that I have indeed become a thing of the past, because this alliance has completely disintegrated and there will be no new things. " Ghosn said.

Today, Ghosn and his wife Carol Nahas are in Lebanon. Because there is no extradition regulation between Japan and Lebanon, Ghosn who returned to Lebanon seems to be in a "safe house". When asked by a reporter on the spot whether he could be examined and approved in Lebanon, Ghosn said without hesitation: "I can be tried anywhere, as long as this place is fair."

Ghosn, who once "turned the tide" on Nissan, probably never imagined that he would stage a story of "farmer and snake" with Nissan. Ghosn, who now appears as a "fugitive", has been difficult to reproduce the "high-light moment" of the automobile industry in the short term; Can Nissan, which lost Ghosn, usher in the next "savior"? Obviously, this is a result without victory.

Editor: Yang Yaru

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.