ZCZC
BCN-10
FRANCE-JAPAN-AUTO-MARKETING
Zablit chosen as Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi secretary general
PARIS, Nov 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A French-Lebanese engineer has been chosen
as secretary general of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi auto alliance, part of
a new business framework announced a year after former boss Carlos Ghosn was
arrested.
Hadi Zablit, 49, will oversee industrial cooperation projects to improve
the efficiency and financial performance of the partnership, a source close
to the matter told AFP on Friday, confirming a report in French newspaper Le
Figaro.
The operational revamp aims to mark a new start for the trio as they battle
to emerge from the shadow cast by the legal woes of Ghosn, detained last
November over allegations of financial impropriety.
Zablit is currently business development chief for the French-Japanese auto
alliance, which sold 10.6 million vehicles worldwide in 2017.
The dual citizen, born in Lebanon, first joined Renault as an engineer and
product manager in 1994. He left to work for the Boston Consulting Group in
2000 and returned to the French car giant nearly three years ago.
Ghosn’s sudden arrest last year at a Tokyo airport sent shockwaves through
the business world.
The 65-year-old Brazil-born executive — one of the world’s best-known and
respected tycoons — is now out on bail after 130 days in a Japanese
detention centre.
He faces charges of deferring part of his salary until after his retirement
and concealing this from shareholders, as well as syphoning off millions in
Nissan cash for his own purposes.
Ghosn says he is innocent and is seeking to have his case declared null and
void — even if legal experts and his own defence deem his chances unlikely.
BSS/AFP/HR/1040