Ghosn's Relations With Nissan CEO in Focus
- Tensions were heightened between the auto stalwart and Saikawa
- People familiar deny WSJ report Ghosn had planned to oust CEO
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Almost three weeks after his shock arrest in Japan, Carlos Ghosn’s relationship with his former protege is emerging as key to determining what may have triggered the investigation that has put the car industry titan in a Tokyo jail cell.
Ghosn, who was ejected as Nissan’s chairman shortly after his arrest, planned for months to shake up senior management at the automaker and had made known his plans to replace Chief Executive Office Hiroto Saikawa, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. Ghosn, who promoted the Nissan lifer to the CEO position in 2017, wanted to carry out his plan at a board meeting in November, one of the people told the WSJ.