Renault ousts CEO Bolloré

14 October 2019 Renault has ousted CEO Thierry Bolloré and replaced him with Clotilde Delbos, who will act in the position as the company chooses a successor. The move is intended to draw a line under the reign of Carlos Ghosn, with the French carmaker seeking to strengthen ties between itself and alliance partner Nissan. The Japanese company recently announced its own management changes in an effort to move forward from the scandal. ′The Board of Directors also decided to appoint, with immediate effect, Clotilde Delbos as Chief Executive Officer of Renault SA for an interim period, until a process is completed to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer,’ the company said in a statement. ′The Board of Directors gave a favourable opinion on the appointment of Olivier Murguet and José-Vicente de los Mozos as Deputy Managing Directors to assist Clotilde Delbos in her duties.’ In addition to the appointments, current Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard will assume the presidency of the company during the interim period. Troubled term Several top executives at Renault have left the company since Bolloré took office, many of them transferring to French rival PSA Group. Among them were former sales and marketing chief Thierry Koskas and company veteran Arnaud Deboeuf, who blamed Bolloré for forcing his exit, Reuters reported at the time. Bolloré leaving will help to reduce tensions in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, especially with the Japanese carmaker appointing a new leadership team to replace outgoing CEO Hiroto Saikawa. The Frenchman was a close ally of the former boss, and one of his first acts was to express his support, causing tension with Nissan that has been slow to amend. Experienced hand Delbos joined Renault in 2012 as group controller and in May 2014 was appointed Alliance Global Director, Control, in addition to her current role as senior vice president, Groupe Renault Controller. In April this year, she took over the responsibility for internal control at the carmaker and is a member of the executive committee. By appointing Delbos, Renault is seeking stabilisation in a time of change. Senard is believed to want to ′clean out’ the company of Ghosn’s influence and the internal appointment will allow it to carry on trading and rebuilding relationships, without much disruption, while the company looks for a successor to Bolloré. It is believed Delbos could also be considered for the role permanently.