Here Today, Ghosn Tomorrow
I'm not happy about the news that Nissan Motor Company is moving its US headquarters from Gardena, California to Nashville, Tennessee. Doron Levin has written a penetrating opinion piece for Bloomberg.com that basically accuses Carlos Ghosn, Nissan CEO, of penny-pinching, while giving back-handed praise for Ghosn's innovative style of management.
Ghosn (rhymes with "phone"), in case you don't know, is a really interesting character. He's mult-ethnic and multi-lingual, of Lebanese descent, French citizenship and Brazilian birth, and he's really the first Western businessman to make a big impact as the head of a very traditional Japanese manufacturing firm. David Magee wrote a great book, Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan that helped cement Ghosn's reputation as a mover and shaker. Published in 2003, the book is already out of date, a tribute to Ghosn's continued rise in the auto world.
So, why am I not happy that Nissan is moving to Nashville? Because I live in Southern California, and I don't want other car companies following suit. If the Japanese and Europeans really believe that there's a USA between the coasts, those of us in LA and New York are going to be in big trouble.
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