Dazzled by Ghosn's Star, Investors Ignored Lessons of History
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Carlos Ghosn during an interview in Yokohama, Japan.
Photographer: Akio Kon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
When Carlos Ghosn became chairman of Mitsubishi Motors in 2016, he assured shareholders that he could handle running a third car company alongside Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA. The appointment put Ghosn atop each of the automakers in addition to his role as the leader of a loosely defined alliance of the three, an unprecedented degree of responsibility for one individual. But, he said at the time, “I know my limits.”
He didn’t. Ghosn’s been arrested and accused of underreporting his compensation to Japanese securities regulators, financial misconduct that Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s chief executive officer, described as “the negative side of the long reign of Ghosn.”