Carlos Ghosn was Chairman and CEO of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance (2005–2018), the automotive collaboration among France’s Groupe Renault, Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. He was also Chairman and CEO of Groupe Renault (May 2005–January 2019), Chairman and CEO of Nissan Motor Co. (June 2001–April 2017), and Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corp (December 2016–November 2018).
Mr. Ghosn is best known for orchestrating the remarkable turnaround of Nissan from near bankruptcy through the “Nissan Revival Plan” launched in 1999, leading the company to profitability by 2000–2001.
He holds the distinction of being the auto industry’s longest serving CEO (2001–2018) and was the first person to simultaneously run two companies on the Fortune Global 500 list (Renault and Nissan) beginning in 2005. Under his leadership, the Alliance became the world’s #1 automotive group in 2017 and 2018, a leader in mass market electric vehicles, and a pioneer in autonomous driving and connected cars.
He has served on advisory boards and councils at top academic institutions, including Tsinghua University in Beijing and Stanford University in California. Since 2020, he has been developing programs at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in Lebanon.
In recognition of his leadership, Mr. Ghosn has received numerous distinctions and awards from around the world, including Mexico, Brazil, Spain, England, France, Morocco, Lebanon, and Japan. He was awarded Japan’s Blue Ribbon Medal in 2004, becoming just the third non Japanese recipient since the Meiji Era.
He remains the only major auto industry CEO born and raised in emerging markets, born in Brazil in 1954. He is married and a father of four.
He graduated from École Polytechnique (engineering degree, 1974) and École des Mines de Paris (engineering degree, 1978).