Autos

Nissan fails to appoint a replacement for Carlos Ghosn

Key Points
  • Nissan failed to name a successor to replace Carlos Ghosn as chairman; its CEO said there was no deadline to announce a successor.
  • The Japanese automaker instead instead announced the creation of a special committee aimed at boosting corporate governance.
  • Ghosn was apprehended last month over allegations that he had been under-reporting compensation and misusing company funds.
Passersby are silhouetted as a huge street monitor broadcasts news reporting ousted Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn's indictment and re-arrest in Tokyo, Japan December 10, 2018.
Issei Kato | Reuters

Nissan failed to name a replacement for ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn on Monday.

Ghosn was apprehended in Japan last month over allegations that he had been under-reporting compensation and misusing company funds.

Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa reportedly said Monday that talks to replace the embattled auto executive were ongoing, and that there was no deadline to announce a successor.

The Japanese automaker instead announced the creation of a special committee aimed at boosting corporate governance.

Nissan said Monday that the committee would be formed of independent third party members as well as outside directors, and will lay out recommendations on how to improve the firm's approval process for setting compensation for directors and creating "a healthy state of governance."

"It has been confirmed that the proposed independent third parties are not related to or with any interest in the company, including any direct business with Nissan," the firm said in a press statement Monday.

The future of the global auto alliance between Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi, which Ghosn had overseen for almost two decades, has been in doubt following his arrest.

Both Nissan and Mitsubishi have ousted Ghosn, while Renault's board last week decided that he should stay in office. Last week, Renault said the board had found no irregularities in his pay packages between 2015 and 2018, and that the approval of his compensation was in compliance with the law.

Nissan said it expects to receive recommendations from the special committee by March 31, 2019.