Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire

Named one of the Best Business Books of 2021 by The Wall Street Journal

In Japan it's called the "Ghosn Shock"—the stunning arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the jet-setting CEO who saved Nissan and made it part of a global automotive empire.

Even more shocking was his daring escape from Japan, packed into a box and put on a private jet to Lebanon after months spent in a Japanese detention center, subsisting on rice gruel.

This is the saga of what led to the Ghosn Shock and what was left in its wake. Ghosn spent two decades building a colossal partnership between Nissan and Renault that looked like a new model for a global business, but the alliance's shiny image fronted an unsteady, tense operation. Culture clashes, infighting among executives and engineers, dueling corporate traditions, and government maneuvering constantly threatened the venture.

Journalists Hans Greimel and William Sposato have followed the story up close, with access to key players, including Ghosn himself. Veteran Tokyo-based reporters, they have witnessed the end of Japan's bubble economy and attempts at opening Japan Inc. to the world. They've seen the fraying of keiretsu, Japan's traditional skein of business relationships, and covered numerous corporate scandals, of which the Ghosn Shock and Ghosn's subsequent escape stand above all.

Expertly reported, Collision Course explores the complex suspicions around what and who was really responsible for Ghosn's ouster and why one of the top executives in the world would risk everything to escape the country. It explains how economics, history, national interests, cultural politics, and hubris collided, crumpling the legacy of arguably the most important foreign businessman ever to set foot in Japan.

This gripping, unforgettable narrative, full of fascinating characters, serves as part cautionary tale, part object lesson, and part forewarning of the increasing complexity of doing global business in a nationalistic world.

1137615547
Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire

Named one of the Best Business Books of 2021 by The Wall Street Journal

In Japan it's called the "Ghosn Shock"—the stunning arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the jet-setting CEO who saved Nissan and made it part of a global automotive empire.

Even more shocking was his daring escape from Japan, packed into a box and put on a private jet to Lebanon after months spent in a Japanese detention center, subsisting on rice gruel.

This is the saga of what led to the Ghosn Shock and what was left in its wake. Ghosn spent two decades building a colossal partnership between Nissan and Renault that looked like a new model for a global business, but the alliance's shiny image fronted an unsteady, tense operation. Culture clashes, infighting among executives and engineers, dueling corporate traditions, and government maneuvering constantly threatened the venture.

Journalists Hans Greimel and William Sposato have followed the story up close, with access to key players, including Ghosn himself. Veteran Tokyo-based reporters, they have witnessed the end of Japan's bubble economy and attempts at opening Japan Inc. to the world. They've seen the fraying of keiretsu, Japan's traditional skein of business relationships, and covered numerous corporate scandals, of which the Ghosn Shock and Ghosn's subsequent escape stand above all.

Expertly reported, Collision Course explores the complex suspicions around what and who was really responsible for Ghosn's ouster and why one of the top executives in the world would risk everything to escape the country. It explains how economics, history, national interests, cultural politics, and hubris collided, crumpling the legacy of arguably the most important foreign businessman ever to set foot in Japan.

This gripping, unforgettable narrative, full of fascinating characters, serves as part cautionary tale, part object lesson, and part forewarning of the increasing complexity of doing global business in a nationalistic world.

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Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire

Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire

Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire

Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire

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Overview

Named one of the Best Business Books of 2021 by The Wall Street Journal

In Japan it's called the "Ghosn Shock"—the stunning arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the jet-setting CEO who saved Nissan and made it part of a global automotive empire.

Even more shocking was his daring escape from Japan, packed into a box and put on a private jet to Lebanon after months spent in a Japanese detention center, subsisting on rice gruel.

This is the saga of what led to the Ghosn Shock and what was left in its wake. Ghosn spent two decades building a colossal partnership between Nissan and Renault that looked like a new model for a global business, but the alliance's shiny image fronted an unsteady, tense operation. Culture clashes, infighting among executives and engineers, dueling corporate traditions, and government maneuvering constantly threatened the venture.

Journalists Hans Greimel and William Sposato have followed the story up close, with access to key players, including Ghosn himself. Veteran Tokyo-based reporters, they have witnessed the end of Japan's bubble economy and attempts at opening Japan Inc. to the world. They've seen the fraying of keiretsu, Japan's traditional skein of business relationships, and covered numerous corporate scandals, of which the Ghosn Shock and Ghosn's subsequent escape stand above all.

Expertly reported, Collision Course explores the complex suspicions around what and who was really responsible for Ghosn's ouster and why one of the top executives in the world would risk everything to escape the country. It explains how economics, history, national interests, cultural politics, and hubris collided, crumpling the legacy of arguably the most important foreign businessman ever to set foot in Japan.

This gripping, unforgettable narrative, full of fascinating characters, serves as part cautionary tale, part object lesson, and part forewarning of the increasing complexity of doing global business in a nationalistic world.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781647820480
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date: 06/22/2021
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 256
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Hans Greimel is an award-winning American business journalist based in Tokyo, where he serves as Asia Editor for Automotive News, overseeing coverage from Japan, China, and South Korea. He has been writing about Nissan and the alliance for more than a decade and has interviewed Carlos Ghosn multiple times, including a one-on-one interview after Ghosn's arrest.

William Sposato is a Tokyo-based correspondent and consultant who has been active in Japan for more than twenty years, with senior roles at Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. He is currently a writer and regular contributor to Foreign Policy magazine. He is also a consultant to corporations and government bodies on economics, corporate issues, and regional diplomacy.

You can find Hans Greimel and William Sposato on Twitter:
twitter.com/hansgreimel
twitter.com/williamsposato

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Ghosn Shock 1

2 Rock Star CEO 19

3 Japan Is Different 31

4 The Global Standard 45

5 Memories Are Short 61

6 Pressure Cooker 73

7 Collision Course 91

8 The French Are Different 107

9 The Case Is Built 121

10 Makings of a Conspiracy 137

11 Justice Japan Style 157

12 Ghosn Fights Back 171

13 Alliance Upheaval 185

14 Foreign Entanglements 203

15 We See Issues 217

16 Scandalous Affairs 237

17 Shattered Legacy 247

18 Jail Japan Style 263

19 Great Escape 275

20 The Forgotten Man 293

21 Course Correction 309

Acknowledgments 329

Notes 333

Index 355

About the Authors 367

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