Asia Power Watch

The price of East-West economic warfare: Carlos Ghosn and the fate of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance

Pedestrians walk past a screen displaying a news broadcast on former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. The former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA appeared as energetic and combative as ever at a rowdy two-and-a-half-hour press conference in Beirut, the first since his arrest in Tokyo more than a year ago on allegations of financial misconduct. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg

One cannot think of a better cautionary tale for East-West leadership than the spectacular rise and public fall of Carlos Ghosn at the helm of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi automotive alliance. Ghosn’s saga has been told many times, from many angles. During this webinar, intercultural leadership expert Gabor Holch of East-West Leadership Coaching & Keynotes asked Asia Power Watch founder & editor Nicolas Michelon about the lessons for corporate leaders who do business between East and West:

– What are the warning signals that, although much smaller in scale than Ghosn’s tragedy, troubles are mounting at East-West business alliances?

– What can leaders learn from how French and Japanese firms became aware of, and eventually handled the crisis?

– How can American, European and Asian firms build more constructive and resilient partnerships in the light of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi disaster?

Nicolas spent years researching the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance headed by Ghosn, the power plays underlying his leadership tenure, and the corporate, economic and political interests that ultimate undermined the alliance led to his eventual arrest and adventurous escape from Japan.

Watch the webinar here:

Picture credits: bloomberg.com

Nicolas Michelon

Nicolas is a corporate geoeconomics and strategic & business intelligence expert with 25 years of experience in the Asia-Pacific, and more recently in the Gulf and Türkiye. A Managing Partner at Alagan Partners, he advises corporate executives on how to navigate the current geopolitical and geoeconomic environment, mitigate risk and develop prospective scenarios. He is also an Adjunct Professor & Guest Lecturer in geopolitics, geoeconomics and business intelligence at ESCP Business School (France), Galatasaray University (Türkiye), University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (Morocco), and Ecole de Guerre Economique (Paris School of Economic Warfare).