How a Powerful Nissan Insider Tore Apart Carlos Ghosn’s Legacy

How a Powerful Nissan Insider Tore Apart Carlos Ghosn’s Legacy

Behind every corporate coup is a mastermind. At Nissan Motor Co., that was Hari Nada, an insider known for his aggressive tactics and fondness for Marlboros, French cuff shirts and strong cologne. The senior vice president orchestrated a campaign to arrest and dethrone then-Chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018 on criminal financial-misconduct allegations. The aftermath has been messy. High-profile careers were destroyed, and chaos gripped management. Nissan is losing billions of dollars, and its alliance with Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is at risk of unraveling. Meanwhile, Ghosn is unlikely to ever face Japanese justice after escaping to Lebanon late last year.A cosmopolitan business celebrity who speaks English, French, Arabic and Portuguese, Ghosn saved Nissan from ruin in the early 2000s. Yet in this multi-act corporate drama, the other leading