Ghosn’s name screamed out by shareholder

As Nissan executives attempted to reassure investors that the company's latest turnaround plan would restore profitability, frustration boiled over inside the meeting hall. At least one shareholder loudly called for the return of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, while others voiced deep dissatisfaction with Nissan's continuing decline. Although the proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by shareholders, the mere fact that Ghosn's name resurfaced so publicly illustrates just how desperate many investors have become.

From his home in Lebanon, where he has lived since fleeing Japan in late 2019 while awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges that he denies, Ghosn was quick to seize the moment.

"It's a reaction with plenty of common sense," he told Reuters. "You can feel the anger and the frustration of the shareholders." Ghosn argued that three successive chief executives have failed to revive Nissan and suggested that only a strong leader willing to make difficult decisions can reverse the company's fortunes. Unsurprisingly, he nominated himself for the role.

It would be easy to dismiss the comments as the musings of a former executive eager to rewrite history. But the shareholder reaction raises a more uncomfortable question.

Has Nissan really made meaningful progress since Ghosn's dramatic departure? The numbers suggest otherwise.

Nissan’s sales have fallen from 5.5M units to 3.15M in 7 years

When Ghosn was arrested in November 2018, Nissan was hardly in perfect health. Critics argued that his relentless pursuit of global sales volume had weakened profitability and left the company overly dependent on incentives and fleet sales in key markets. Nevertheless, Nissan remained one of the world's largest automakers, selling around 5.5 million vehicles annually.

Today, global sales have fallen to roughly 3.15 million vehicles, while Nissan's market value has declined sharply. The company has cycled through multiple chief executives, announced repeated restructuring plans, reduced production capacity and struggled to keep pace with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers and an increasingly competitive global market.

None of this means Ghosn should return. Such an outcome is virtually impossible.

Beyond the unresolved legal issues, Nissan has spent years attempting to distance itself from the man who once symbolized its remarkable turnaround following Renault's rescue in 1999.

Yet history has a habit of becoming kinder when the present looks worse.

Many shareholders remember Ghosn not as the executive who left Japan under extraordinary circumstances, but as the leader who rescued Nissan from near-bankruptcy, restored profitability and transformed the company into one of the industry's most successful global manufacturers during the 2000s.

Memory can be remarkably selective. Today's management now faces an equally difficult challenge.

Espinosa inherits challenging job

New CEO Ivan Espinosa has inherited one of the most demanding jobs in the global automotive industry. Nissan is simultaneously trying to accelerate electrification and solidify robotaxi relationships with Uber and Wayne, reduce costs, simplify its global operations and defend market share against increasingly aggressive Chinese competitors—all while rebuilding investor confidence after years of disappointing financial performance.

That is no small task. Perhaps the most significant takeaway from this week's shareholder meeting is not that someone wanted Carlos Ghosn back. It is that enough investors felt compelled to say it out loud.

Japanese annual shareholder meetings are typically measured, orderly affairs. Public outbursts remain relatively uncommon, making this week's intervention particularly revealing. It reflected a level of frustration that extends well beyond nostalgia for a former chief executive.

Ironically, Ghosn himself now believes he stayed too long at Nissan.

In his Reuters interview, he said his greatest mistake may have been not retiring after securing the Renault-Nissan Alliance and completing the turnaround he was originally brought in to deliver.

Whether one views Carlos Ghosn as Nissan's greatest savior or its most controversial leader, one conclusion seems unavoidable.

When shareholders begin calling for the return of a fugitive former CEO, they are not necessarily voting for the past. They are expressing their disappointment with the present. And that may be the biggest challenge facing Nissan today.