New sequel to the case of Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Renault swept away by a scandal of malpractices in Japan: the board of the French automaker Friday dismissed his dolphin Thierry Bolloré, deeming necessary "a new breath" according to its president. At the end of an exceptional meeting, "the board of directors decided to put an end to the mandates of Director General" of Thierry Bolloré "with immediate effect", indicated the group to the diamond in a statement. To ensure the transition, the Board has appointed current Chief Financial Officer Clotilde Delbos as Acting Executive Director.
"Management problems"
Thierry Bolloré "was present at the meeting and spoke, he was criticized for management problems and performance," told AFP a source close to the file, stating that "no director had voted against his dismissal "with" very few abstentions ". It is a way for the builder to turn the page of the era Carlos Ghosn, his former fallen CEO, who is awaiting trial in Japan where he has been indicted and placed under house arrest for alleged multiple malpractices. Ghosn had made Thierry Bolloré his presumptive successor. "There are times when it is useful for a company to find a new breath, there is nothing personal", however insisted the president of the group Jean-Dominique Senard during a press conference at the group's headquarters , in Boulogne-Billancourt (south-west of Paris).
"The renewal of the alliance (with the Japanese Nissan) was necessary," he said, adding that the search for a candidate to replace Mr. Bolloré had not started yet. Earlier, in front of Renault's four central shop stewards, Mr Senard justified this decision with "management problems, a lack of transversality and a growing distrust of middle management", according to CFDT delegate Franck Daoût . What was defended, as early as Thursday evening, Mr. Bolloré in an interview with the daily Les Echos , denouncing "a disturbing coup de force" and estimating that it was made "perhaps" to pay his appointment as deputy director-general early 2018 "on the proposal of Carlos Ghosn".
French Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire assured him Friday that the state wanted the alliance between Renault and Nissan "to enter a new stage". "We want the alliance to enter a new phase with an industrial strategy that is clear to face significant challenges such as the autonomous vehicle and the electric vehicle," the minister said in a brief statement to the press.