Ghosn shot to fame in the 1990s for his miraculous turnaround of ailing carmaker Nissan, taking the Japanese firm from $6 billion loss to a $2.7 billion profit in just one year.
Nicknamed “Mr. Fix It”, he runs both Nissan and Paris-based Renault, and has won plaudits for his decision to use his two firms to jointly develop the world’s first lineup of electric cars, starting with the Nissan Leaf.