Ghosn still CEO at heart

Carlos Ghosn started his interview like an executive running a board meeting. “We don’t have too much time, so let’s start,” he told two reporters from AFP and French daily Les Echos, as if calling unruly shareholders to order. But this was no boardroom or business meeting: this was the 10th floor of the Kosuge detention centre in Tokyo, where he has languished since Japanese prosecutors stormed his private jet brandishing allegations of financial misconduct. Clad in a black tracksuit and translucent plastic prison slippers, the former head of the world’s biggest selling auto alliance strode into the room in a confident mood.

He spoke English in a clear and confident voice as he steered the interview, his first with non-Japanese media since his November 19 arrest. The meeting took place in a room roughly six metres square (65 square feet) and Ghosn was separated from the two reporters by a screen. He was flanked by two detention centre guards, one taking notes at a wooden desk, the other precisely measuring the alloted 15 minutes.

Ghosn was not noticeably thinner, but he was greyer at the roots, his hair slightly dishevelled. The 64-year-old maintained eye contact as he delivered comments crackling with restrained anger and passion. He spoke of his family, saying the hardest thing about his detention was not being able to talk to his daughters and wife Carole. His oldest daughter turned 29 and he could not wish her a happy birthday -- the first time ever.

Despite his detention, he also declared his love for Japan and for Nissan, to which he “dedicated so many years to revive... to rebuild it again, to turn it into a powerhouse.” And for the first time, he provided a thorough account of his conditions. A light on constantly while sleeping. No watch and “no sense of time”. Half an hour a day to pace around on the roof. He said he was “craving” fresh air. “Yes I am strong but obviously I am tired,” he said.