Carlos Ghosn: The rise and fall of an automobile legend

• Main Authors: REB, Jochen, VADERA, Abhijeet K., CHEAH, Sin Mei
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: Carlos Ghosn; automobile industry; leadership styles; Leadership Studies; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6893; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/7892/viewcontent/Ghosn_SMU_AMI_Nov_2021_pv.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Was it politics, greed, or hubris that led to Carlos Ghosn's downfall? On December 29, 2019, disgraced auto titan Carlos Ghosn (rhymes with ‘tone’) made an audacious escape from house arrest in Tokyo, where he had been detained on financial impropriety charges. Of all the places imaginable, Ghosn hid in a huge case for musical instruments, which was then loaded onto an aeroplane as cargo. Dubbed as “one of the most brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history, involving a dizzying array of hotel meet-ups, bullet train travel, fake personas, and the chartering of a private jet”, it was a Hollywood caper in line with Ghosn’s cavalier personality and gilded lifestyle.