Renault board ousts Thierry Bollore as CEO

The board of directors of carmaker Renault has ousted Thierry Bollore as CEO and named Clotilde Delbos as interim chief executive.

“The board of directors decided to end the mandate of Thierry Bollore as Chief Executive Officer of Renault [...] with immediate effect,” the firm said in a statement.

According to Reuters, three members of the 18-strong board abstained in the vote to remove Bollore. The CEO, who had briefed reporters just the night before, described the latest move as a coup.

“The brutality and the totally unexpected character of what is happening are stupefying [...] This coup de force is very worrying,” Bollore told Les Echos newspaper on Thursday evening.

The board also appointed Jean-Dominique Senard as the interim president of Renault.

Shares of Renault were trading more than 3.3% higher on Friday morning but remained lower by around 4% year-to-date.

Bollore took the top job after former boss Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo last November on allegations of financial misconduct.

However, Bollore has been viewed by some as a Ghosn ally and Japanese executives at partner Nissan have been reportedly unhappy with his appointment at the top of Renault, said CNBC on Friday.