In an exclusive Forbes interview on 27 June 2023, conducted by Diane Brady, Carlos Ghosn detailed his $1.1 billion lawsuit filed in Lebanon against Nissan and several of its executives, highlighting both his legal claims and insights on corporate dynamics within Nissan.
Highlights from the interview
- Legal claims:
Ghosn seeks $588 million in compensation and $500 million in punitive damages, accusing Nissan and twelve individuals of defamation and wrongful actions related to his 2018 arrest, dubbed a politically motivated scandal impacting his reputation and finances. - Fighting as a fugitive:
Living in Lebanon, Ghosn stressed he rebuilt his case from limited resources:
“I think today I’ve got probably 30% of what I had before… But the 30% is so obvious, so incriminating, that we decided to go ahead with it.”
- “Strange conflict” at Nissan:
He condemned internal discord at Nissan, stating:
“Today, we have a façade of an alliance… the last chapter was this strange conflict between the CEO and COO, where the COO was defenestrated.” He noted the shareholder meeting lacked accountability:
“243 attendees, when I was CEO for 19 years, I had an average of 2,000 shareholders.”
- EVs and missed opportunities:
Reflecting on innovation, Ghosn compared Nissan’s early electrification, alongside Elon Musk’s Tesla, and admitted personal regret:
“He created his own company. I didn’t. This was my mistake… If I had created a startup about electric cars or batteries, I would be in a completely different position.”
27 June 2023