Scratch former exec Pelata from Opel race
 | Pelata: New ties to Toyota |
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Well, we know who's not going to be running Opel: Patrick Pelata, the former Renault-Nissan executive who had been mentioned as a candidate for the GM Europe job Steve Girsky is trying to fill.
Instead, Pelata is joining Salesforce.com, a cloud computing company in San Francisco that works closely with Toyota. His title will be chief automotive officer.
The 56-year-old Frenchman helped Carlos Ghosn fix Nissan a few years ago. But he stepped down as Renault's COO in 2011 after the company discovered that a widely reported corporate espionage investigation was bungled. The investigation led to the wrongful dismissal of three senior managers, causing an uproar in France.
After the fracas, Pelata no longer was Ghosn's No. 2 man but remained at the alliance.
Salesforce.com co-developed Toyota's onboard telematics system, Toyota Friend.
