On April 29, 2008 the General Meeting agreed to appoint Thierry Desmarest and Jean-Pierre Garnier as Directors.

Board of Directors

The company is administered by a Board of Directors composed of 18 members:

• 14 directors appointed by the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders;
• 3 directors elected by employees;
• 1 director appointed by the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on the recommendation of employee shareholders.          

Click here to see the composition of the Board of Directors

The term of office of directors appointed by the AGM is four years. The term of office of directors elected by employees and of the director appointed by the AGM on the recommendation of employee shareholders is four years (since the 2008 AGM).

Every director must hold at least one registered share (1). However, administrative regulations prohibits the directors appointed by the French State to own shares as government representatives.

Having reviewed those qualities, at its meeting on February 22, 2005, the Board of Directors reasserted its intention of complying with the most thorough definition of corporate governance available in France, namely the AFEP/MEDEF report. The list of directors was revised at the Board meeting of October 25, 2005, after the resignation of  one of the independent directors.

Following the Annual General Meeting of April 29, 2005, in accordance with the internal regulations adopted on February 22, 20205, the Board appointed Louis Schweitzer as non executive Chairman and Carlos Ghosn as Chief Executive Officer. The Chairman of the Board is responsible for organizing and steering the agenda of the Board of Directors. The CEO, who takes the title of President and CEO, devotes his time entirely to managing the company, and the only limits on this powers are those set by law, the articles of incorporation and the by-laws.

(1) Percentage of Renault share capital held by directors: 0.08%

Independent directors

At its meeting on February 28, 2006 the Board of Directors restated its intention of complying with the most thorough definition of corporate governance available in France, namely the AFEP/MEDEF report.

The Board also repeated the qualities that it expects from a director: experience of the company and the automotive industry, a personal commitment to the work of the Board and its Committees, a sound grasp of business and finance, the courage to express minority opinions, international vision, integrity, and loyalty.

At December 31, 2007 Renault had eight independent directors on its Board: Dominique de La Garanderie, François de Combret, Charles de Croisset, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, Henri Martre, Jean-Claude Paye, Franck Riboud and Philippe Lagayette (see table Chapter 4.1.1.1).

The representative of the French state, the employee-elected directors, the director elected by employee shareholders, the Chairman of the Board and the President and Chief Executive Officer (as corporate officers), as well as the two directors appointed by Nissan, which is linked to Renault, are all excluded from the list in accordance with the principle of director independence stated above.

The Board stressed, however, that the directors elected by employees and employee shareholders, in particular, are not dependent on the company’s senior executives as far as their presence on the Board is concerned. This is illustrated by the special contribution they make to the Board’s proceedings.