Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn: Separating Man from Myth

CNN recently wrote a story on the man, separating fact from myth. Brazilian born, Ghosn was the child of Lebanese parents and later moved to Lebanon as a toddler. He later studied engineering in France at Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines de Paris, where he is currently a citizen.

He began his career in 1978 with Europe’s largest tiremaker, Michelin, where he moved up the ranks to become chief operating officer in 18 years. In 1996 he joined Renault as executive vice president and was sent to revive Nissan in 1999 and did so at almost myth-like speed. He is currently the CEO for Nissan and Renault, and also on the boards for Alcoa, Sony, and IBM.

He is fluent in four languages—French, Arabic, English and Portuguese—and is picking up Japanese rapidly. (As he should as head of Nissan.) Despite the workload, he values the time with his family and as a father the most.

Carlos was named Man of the Year in 2002 by French Magazine Le Journal de l'Automobile, and Businessman of the Year by Fortune magazine the same year. Something of a superstar in Japan, he is swarmed for photos and autographs and has his own comic book series in the country. But he asserts that his most cherished award is Father of the Year he received in 2001 from a community group.

Our take? Carlos Ghosn certainly has an impressive track record, and is undisputedly one of the giants in the automotive industry.