Carlos Ghosn launches executive training programme in native Lebanon
Former Nissan and Renault boss Carlos Ghosn is set to launch a management and business programme at a Lebanon university nine months after fleeing to his childhood home from Japan where he faced trial.
Ghosn escaped to Beirut after being charged with financial wrongdoing by Japanese prosecutors but denies the allegations.
He has now revealed a plan to reinvigorate the business school at the private university in the Lebanese capital, the Universite Saint-Espirit de Kaslik (USEK).
It will coach top executives, offer technology training and help start-ups that will create jobs.
The plans come as Lebanon’s economy continues to collapse due to a pile of debt amassed since the civil war between 1975 and 1990. It defaulted on payments for the first time in March.
Years of misrule and corruption were compounded by a devastating blast on 4 August, but Ghosn says he wants to support the country.
“Obviously I am not interested in politics but I will dedicate time and effort into supporting Lebanon during this difficult period,” he told Reuters ahead of today’s formal launch.
‘Creating jobs’
“This is about creating jobs, employment and entrepreneurs to allow society to take its role into the reconstruction of the country,” Ghosn told a press conference at USEK.
The university approached Ghosn in December and the programmes will be aimed at helping to turn struggling companies and corporations around.
The French-Lebanese executive has already onboarded several international executives to provide pro bono courses, including Jaguar and Land Rover Chief Executive Thierry Bolloré, former Goldman Sachs vice-chairman Ken Curtis and venture capitalist Raymond Debbane.
They will be open to 15 to 20 senior executives in Lebanon and the Middle East.
“The role model is my experience, what I think are the basic needs of a top executive in a very competitive environment,” he said.
The other initiatives would train people in technologies such as computer-assisted design and artificial intelligence, while he also wants to help entrepreneurs and said he aimed to invest in two projects.
“I am mainly interested in projects that have environmental impact,” he said, citing the example of a project to turn sewage into fertilizer.
“You are creating entrepreneurs which are badly needed, you are creating employment,” he said.
“These students need help more than anybody else. This is the class that has been smashed by the situation today,” he said.
“I’m going to help in the way I can,” he said. “I’m going to help build the economy by helping to solve problems that every Lebanese is facing today.”