This just in: Carlos Ghosn is the man. He has rescued a car company from the abyss, he's been immortalized in Japanese manga, and now he's been knighted on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II by British ambassador to Japan, Graham Fry. Ghosn was bestowed the honorary title in recognition of his contribution to British-Japanese relations. It doesn't hurt that Nissan owns Great Britain's largest automotive factory, which accounts for 20% of total British car production. Ghosn described himself as feeling "proud and humbled' to receive the honor, and called it an acknowledgment of Nissan's 5,600 UK employees.
It's hard to imagine how Ghosn will split up his already crazy schedule of running two automotive companies and sitting with the other knights at the round table...
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike @ Feb 21st 2007 8:04AM
Why is it such a big deal to be knighted now a days? IS the only qualifying condition to be rich?
http://www.internetseriousbiz.com/
BluePariah @ Feb 21st 2007 8:52AM
On second thought, let's not go to Camelot, it is a silly place...
the marais @ Feb 21st 2007 9:32AM
It would be cooler if he were made a samurai!
jj @ Feb 21st 2007 10:26AM
seriously, Am I the only one out here NOT impressed with ghosn?
He was ceo when nissan became cool again. Now they're going back to uncool and he hasn't done squat.
Let's see a second successful act before calling him the man.
Richard Warren @ Feb 21st 2007 10:38AM
Goodnight sweet prince. Now use your Knightly powers and scepter to avoid letting employees go and get your market share back.
thisislame @ Feb 21st 2007 1:11PM
Ghos-n' Goul
KC @ Feb 21st 2007 1:37PM
@ jj
Second act:
GT-R
Now in new improved Global Availability!
Nothing like a 911 Turbo slayer at a budget price (for it's class) to bring the cool image back to a company...
Why fret about a slight slip in profits when you've got the new GT-R nearly ready to make the world take notice again.
Chip @ Feb 21st 2007 3:01PM
exactly! all this nonsense about loss of marketshare or nissans being uncool again is a big joke. anyone that knows anything about the recent lag after the miraculous turnaround knows it has more to do with stale product as a result of nissan initially introducing several refreshes and new models at the same time, and less with the fluke that Sir Carlos pulled off according to several naysayers. this is being corrected for the second go-around as model refreshes are being more staggered.
amp @ Feb 22nd 2007 9:46AM
Ghosn is a fraud. Here's a man that is too in love with himself to see what's right.
Rescued a car company from the abyss? Most of the cars that gave Nissan the boost a few years ago were already well along their way before Carlos took the reigns. Sure he saved a few dollars here and there, but he made a fatal mistake in relocating Nissan to TN at a time when they have to have flawless launches of several key products coming out.
I wish them the best, but I don't think they can sustain the momentum. When all the cards are on the table, I think Ghosn will be remembered as a failure who caught a lucky streak early in his career.
Chip @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:40AM
#10. The sky isn't falling at Nissan, only time will tell if the momentum can be sustained or not. Every decision he has made has had the midas touch.Every major decision such as a reevaluation of the traditional business model in place at Nissan that was responible for its lackluster performance in the 90's, to the relocation (gasp) to TN, has been met with much scrutiny and doubt, only to be proved in the future to be another masterstroke of genius. Bottomline, noone(yes noone), in the history of the automotive world has been able to pull of what Sir Carlos has done. Of course he has his detractors, mainly the former employees who didnt wish to make the bold step into the future and follow the company on their trek to TN, but that just basically reeks of sour grapes, just as Sir Carlos' detractors do.