Renault Trims Board, Director Compensation Scheme

Renault SA intends to streamline its board and sharply reduce member compensation, effective with the company’s annual shareholder meeting on June 12.

The moves will reduce the company’s board to 18 members from 20, formally dropping Carlos Ghosn and two others and adding Annette Winkler, former head of Daimler AG’s Smart minicar brand.

Ghosn awaits trial on charges of financial misdeeds at Nissan Motor Co. He agreed in January to resign his Renault positions as chairman and CEO.

New Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard will receive a fixed annual salary of €450,000 ($506,100) and no other bonuses or stock options, sources tell Bloomberg News. His pay compares with Ghosn’s €7.4 million ($8.3 million) package in 2017.

New Renault CEO Thierry Bollore will receive a base salary of €900,000 ($1 million) and unspecified other variable compensation, according to Bloomberg. The news service’s sources say the board also decided Ghosn no longer qualifies for a retirement salary worth about €765,000 ($860,400).

Renault’s board says Ghosn received €1 million in fixed pay for his work in 2018. But it voted to slash his variable compensation for the year to €224,000 ($252,000).

The board also sharply reduced his eligibility for pension payments after accusing Ghosn of “questionable and concealed practices.” According to Bloomberg’s sources, he no longer qualifies for annual defined-benefit pension payments worth about €765,000 ($860,400).