Carlos Ghosn

Japan is in love with Carlos Ghosn. So is Nissan. And Renault. The CEO of both Nissan and Renault (on April 2005) stars in mangas. He speaks five languages. He's a workaholic, and drives his employees by watching metrics and sticking to targets. His employees mob him for autographs, and those who fail him, recognize him as being ruthless. Why? He's a turnaround king. He turned Nissan from a failure to the No. 2 carmaker in Japan, and a global powerhouse, with hot cars rolling off the assembly line, nonstop. Renault owns 44% of Nissan, and if they were a combined company, they would be 4th largest automaker in the world. Since Renault bought into Nissan in 1999 and enthrone Ghosn, ties between the companies have been growing ever stronger. Where DaimlerChrysler failed to capitalize on their shared assets, Nissan and Renault are succeeding. The companies are working slowly to share technology and knowledge -- across both companies and across their global operations. They've become so successful, that there is even thoughts of having Renault explore the global arena again. BusinessWeek has an in-depth article on Ghosn and where he's taking his companies. Read more.