Francois Michelin Dies at 88

Francois Michelin, who headed tiremaker Michelin & Cie. from 1955 to 2002, has died at age 88.

French President Francois Hollande heralded Francois on Wednesday as one of the greatest French industrialists since World War II. Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who Michelin hired in 1978, praised his former leader as a "humble and honest man, a humanist boss and a captain of industry."

Francois transformed Michelin into a global powerhouse driven by its radial tire technology and an expansion program that included opening more than two dozen tire plants outside France in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1976 he opted to take Michelin out of the carmaking business by selling the company's Citroen unit to Peugeot SA. His son Edouard took over as CEO in 2002 and ran the company until he was killed in a boating accident four years later at age 42.