Blog of RENAULT NISSAN Alliance

Renault is a French company. Nissan is a Japanese one. You might think, therefore, that the men and women in charge are mainly French or Japanese respectively.

 

Think again. In fact, the Alliance companies are industry leaders when it comes to cultural diversity in the workplace… and that’s especially true in the boardroom.

 

There can be no doubt that The Alliance is committed to cultural diversity. Did you know, for example, that almost half of Nissan’s top positions – 49 out of 100 – are held by non-Japanese executives? Together they represent 17 countries. 

 

In Japan, where tradition dictates that in even in multi-national companies the top posts are held by Japanese, Nissan is different and by far and away the industry leader when it comes to cultural diversity. 

 

It’s a similar story at Renault, where there are 20 nationalities represented in its 150 top posts.

 

And, of course, the man at the very top – Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn – is a living embodiment of cultural diversity. 

 

Born in Brazil to Lebanese parents, he grew up in Brazil and Lebanon, where he completed his primary and secondary education, before moving to France to complete his university degree. He is multi-lingual, too, speaking French, Portuguese, English and Arabic fluently… and his Japanese isn’t bad, either!

 

At the Alliance, we think that diversity develops curiosity, and that differences can be used to enrich solutions.