Renault ousts Ghosn ally Thierry Bollore from CEO role as turmoil continues
French carmaker Renault ousted its chief executive Thierry Bollore today as fallout from the arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn continues.
Bollore, who was widely seen as Ghosn’s right hand man, was promoted to the chief executive role earlier this year.
Ghosn is facing charges of financial misconduct in Japan – which he denies.
Renault said it had appointed finance director Clotilde Delbos at interim chief executive.
The company said Bollore is leaving his role with immediate effect, with Delbos set to takeover while it looks for a permanent person for the role.
“The board of directors decided to end the mandate of Mr Thierry Bollore as chief executive officer of Renault … with immediate effect,” the company said in a statement
It also named two deputies to support Delbos, sales executive Olivier Murguet and manufacturing and supply chain chief, Jose-Vicente de los Mozos.
Bollore denounced his looming exit as a “coup” in an interview on Thursday, after news that chairman Jean-Dominique Senard was poised to trigger his departure and put it to the board had emerged in the French press on Tuesday.
“The brutality and the totally unexpected character of what is happening are stupefying … This coup de force is very worrying,” Bollore told Les Echos.
Read more: Nissan and Renault workers left with ‘nothing to do’ after Ghosn arrest
Renault’s alliance partner Nissan also recently replaced its chief executive, appointing the head of its China operations Makoto Uchida to the role.
He steps into the place of Hiroto Saikawa, who was the handpicked successor of Ghosn. Saikawa himself was forced out last month, after admitting that he had received payments that flouted company rules – but were not illegal