Regarded at one time, as one of the most powerful man in business, Carlos Gohn is now a fugitive. He was under trial in Japan, for under-reporting his earnings and misappropriation of funds. He broke the Japanese law and exited the country surreptitiously to escape, what he calls a rigged justice system. In his defence, he has said the conditions were untenable and he had no other choice. Carlos Gohn conducted a press conference recently, excerpts can be found below.
Justice may come in time, but regardless of what may happen. Carlos Gohn’s record in the automotive world is almost unmatched. Gohn has served in several capacities with different automotive companies. He has served as CEO of Michelin North America and as Chairman of a lesser known brand AutoVAZ.
Carlos Gohn began his career as a production manager at Michelin and went on to become the CEO. Followed by his short stint, he was hired as a deputy by the Renault's CEO, Louis Schweitzer in the year 1996 and was tasked with turnaround of the brand. The year was a complex period and Renault was making loss. Carlos identified scope in reducing production costs, and introduced lean manufacturing methods. He made organizational changes and as a result was able to reduce the production costs drastically. One of the keys to low production costs can be attributed to centralised research and standardised parts used across many cars.
Success at Renault, was a major contributing factor, and was the reason Nissan rested its fate in Carlos’ hands. At the helm of Nissan, Carlos identified reasons why the brand was ailing. He found management too focused on long-term goals, which resulted in lack of urgency in almost everything they did. Excessive compartmentalization within the organisation prevented collaboration and free exchange of ideas. He introduced a three-year revival plan - where he made the company more profit oriented. As a result production efficiency were enhanced from 53% to 81%, jobs were cut across Japan and several factories were closed due to performance jump. Sponsorships were reduced, bonuses to the board members promised in the previous year, were withdrawn. Wage systems were updated, cross-functional teams were setup to improve communication and bring in transparency.
The cornerstone of the turnaround plan was the launch of Nissan 350Z in the year 2003 and later when the company was doing considerably well, the mass-market brand Datsun was re-introduced for emerging countries like India, Indonesia, South Africa etc.
Carlos stretched the collaborative-envelope even further by bringing in shared synergies of the Renault and Nissan in the form of alliance where both companies operated independently but shared parts, factories, platforms as well as research and development costs. Carlos Gohn became the only CEO heading two Fortune 500 companies simultaneously.
Justice may come in time, but regardless of what may happen. Carlos Gohn’s record in the automotive world is almost unmatched. Gohn has served in several capacities with different automotive companies. He has served as CEO of Michelin North America and as Chairman of a lesser known brand AutoVAZ.
Carlos Gohn began his career as a production manager at Michelin and went on to become the CEO. Followed by his short stint, he was hired as a deputy by the Renault's CEO, Louis Schweitzer in the year 1996 and was tasked with turnaround of the brand. The year was a complex period and Renault was making loss. Carlos identified scope in reducing production costs, and introduced lean manufacturing methods. He made organizational changes and as a result was able to reduce the production costs drastically. One of the keys to low production costs can be attributed to centralised research and standardised parts used across many cars.
Success at Renault, was a major contributing factor, and was the reason Nissan rested its fate in Carlos’ hands. At the helm of Nissan, Carlos identified reasons why the brand was ailing. He found management too focused on long-term goals, which resulted in lack of urgency in almost everything they did. Excessive compartmentalization within the organisation prevented collaboration and free exchange of ideas. He introduced a three-year revival plan - where he made the company more profit oriented. As a result production efficiency were enhanced from 53% to 81%, jobs were cut across Japan and several factories were closed due to performance jump. Sponsorships were reduced, bonuses to the board members promised in the previous year, were withdrawn. Wage systems were updated, cross-functional teams were setup to improve communication and bring in transparency.
The cornerstone of the turnaround plan was the launch of Nissan 350Z in the year 2003 and later when the company was doing considerably well, the mass-market brand Datsun was re-introduced for emerging countries like India, Indonesia, South Africa etc.
Carlos stretched the collaborative-envelope even further by bringing in shared synergies of the Renault and Nissan in the form of alliance where both companies operated independently but shared parts, factories, platforms as well as research and development costs. Carlos Gohn became the only CEO heading two Fortune 500 companies simultaneously.
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