Renault COO Tavares steps down after saying he'd like to run GM or Ford

August 29, 2013 01:00 AM

Staff and wire reports

Tavares was appointed Ghosn's No. 2 at Renault two years ago.

PARIS -- Renault Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares will step down from his post two weeks after publicly saying that he would like to run General Motors or Ford Motor.

Tavares is leaving "in order to pursue other personal projects," Renault said in a statement today.

CEO Carlos Ghosn will temporarily carry out Tavares' duties pending changes in the automaker's management organization, the company said.

The move revived speculation that Tavares, who served as Nissan's Americas chief before returning to Renault in 2011, could join one of the U.S. carmakers as a potential CEO candidate.

GM, whose CEO Dan Akerson is 64, said it had not offered Tavares a post. "He's not coming here," Greg Martin, a GM spokesman, said today.

Ford for competitive reasons does not discuss its succession plans externally, said Jay Cooney, a spokesman for the automaker. Ford maintains it has succession plans in place for all executives including CEO Alan Mulally, 68.

Renault had no comment on Tavares' next move but said he would leave the company at a later date.

Tavares said in a Bloomberg interview published Aug. 14 that Ghosn planned to stay at Renault for the foreseeable future and therefore he was interested in running GM or Ford instead.

"We have a big leader and he is here to stay," Tavares, 55, said in the interview. "My experience would be good for any car company," he said. "Why not GM? I would be honored to lead a company like GM."

Tavares was appointed to the post two years ago after former COO Patrick Pelata had to resign over a botched spy scandal in which three senior managers were wrongfully dismissed. He joined Renault 31 years ago as a test-driving engineer.

Renault growth

Under Tavares, Renault reported unexpected growth in first-half profit as labor-cost reductions and higher vehicle prices more than offset an industrywide slump in European deliveries.

When Tavares oversaw North America for Nissan, 43 percent owned by Renault, he helped the company earn 209 billion yen ($2.2 billion) in the region in the year ended March 2010, versus a 46.7 billion yen loss in 2009.

"I read he was offering himself publicly to other companies, so its not a big surprise," said Juergen Pieper, an analyst at Bankhaus Metzler. "It shows they have a very strong CEO personality. It's very difficult for other executives to get along with a strong CEO."

Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report

PRESS RELEASE

M. Carlos Tavares has mutually agreed with Renault to cease as of today his functions of Chief Operating Officer in order to pursue other personal projects.

M. Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, would like to thank Carlos Tavares for successfully contributing to the results of the company all along his career.

Also effective immediately, M. Carlos Ghosn will temporarily carry out the duties of Chief Operating Officer. In order to reinforce Renault's industrial and commercial performances, an adaptation of the management's organization will soon be decided and announced.