Like so many things in Rio de Janeiro, Carlos Ghosn's turn in the Olympic Torch Relay on Friday didn't go as planned. Ghosn, who is chief executive officer at both Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, was supposed to finish his 200-meter leg right in front of a Copacabana hotel covered bottom to top in advertisements for Nissan's newest car.

The route changed and changed again. The arrival of the torch was delayed. Ghosn's run was cut short, and when he walked to meet visiting reporters, security guards swarmed him. Take it easy, Ghosn said in the Portuguese of his native Porto Velho: "I'm Brazilian."

For the 62-year-old Ghosn, the Rio Olympics are more than a homecoming. Nissan reportedly paid about $250 million to sponsor the games, a campaign that highlights its recent investment in Brazil and a brazen bet that the country's battered economy is on the verge of recovery. When it does, Ghosn says, he wants Nissan and Renault in position to grow their combined market share by 50 percent.