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Renault’s CEO Thierry Bollore Kicked Out, No Official Reason Given

In a move the industry saw coming from earlier this week, Renault’s board of management voted on Friday to oust the company’s CEO and president, Thierry Bolloré. What no one seems to have anticipated, not even Bolloré himself, is the haste with which all this was done.
Thierry Bollore 1 photo
Photo: challenges.fr/ M. Yalcin/Anadolu/AFP
Renault said in a statement that the decision comes into force immediately, leaving no room for the now former-executive to present his case. In the official statement released to the media, Renault gives no reason for its decision.

“Board of Directors decided to end the mandate of Mr Thierry Bolloré as Chief Executive Officer of Renault SA and President of Renault s.a.s with immediate effect,” the carmaker said.

Until a permanent replacement is found, the role of CEO for the company will be assumed by Clotilde Delbos, until now the chief financial officer. The role of president goes for the moment to Jean-Dominique Senard, the chairman of the board.

Bolloré was aware of the board making a move against him from earlier this week. In an interview with French publication Les Echos on Thursday night, he accused his colleagues of a power grab move.

“The brutality and the totally unexpected nature of what is happening are staggering,” he said according to the source. “Operationally, I do not see where the fault is.”

Bollore, perceived as being a man close to alliance partner Nissan’s now-ousted leader, Carlos Ghosn, was also serving on the new operating board set up to run the alliance after Ghosn’s arrest, alongside Senard and Nissan’s Hiroto Saikawa and Osamu Masuko.

Unofficially, the rumor mill points to the French state, who is a Renault stakeholder, not being satisfied with the Frenchman’s ties with Ghosn, while others hinted to him being perceived a hurdle in the path of the Alliance’s transformation.

Whatever the reason, Bollore is out, and Renault’s shares actually rose after the announcement.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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