Will Wagoner End Up At Nissan/Renault?

Rick Wagoner, former CEO of GM (GM), is not old enough to retire. He has an incredible CV which includes running a huge but troubled car company for eight years. Another firm in the same industry may want to tap that experience by making his head man.

Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Peugeot have already replaced their top managers. Ford’s (F) and Chrysler’s CEOs look safe, for now. The next auto company chief likely to be fired is Carlos Ghosn who has run Nissan and Renault for a number of years. Nissan will post its first fiscal year loss in 10 years. That kind of performance was not tolerated by the boards of Toyota and Honda.

The Nissan alliance with Renault is now a decade old. It is starting to show a lot of wear as the car recession deepens. Like GM, it needs new leadership with a new perspective. Wagoner is the man.

Douglas A. McIntyre