[MILAN] Stellantis new CEO Antonio Filosa started his tenure on Monday (Jun 23) by retaining his previous role as head of the key North American market, while avoiding major changes to the French-Italian automaker’s senior management team.
Stellantis shares were briefly suspended at the open, after they fell more than 5 per cent. They were down 2 per cent by 1130 GMT, among the worst performers in Italy’s blue-chip index, with the limited changes leaving investors underwhelmed.
A source familiar with the matter said Filosa’s decision to keep the North American post stemmed from his commitment to continue the job he started about nine months ago to revamp the region, which has been at the core of Stellantis’ recent problems. He also wanted to continue to manage the impact of US tariffs, the source added.
However logical, the decision suggested “that revamping Stellantis may not be a full-time job”, analysts at Jefferies said.
Stellantis shares have fallen 10 per cent since Filosa’s appointment at the end of May, with investors disappointed that an insider was picked following a six-month long search to replace Carlos Tavares to revive the carmaker’s profits, the US business and share price.
The global car sector is also struggling with aggressive competition from China, especially in electric vehicles, the impact of US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs, as well as regulatory uncertainties.
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“In this context, these internal choices for CEO position and then for top management do not really offer a catalyst for short-term investors to buy,” said Massimo Baggiani, founder at Niche Asset Management in London, which sold Stellantis shares last year.
The new executive team has a total of 16 direct reports to Filosa, compared with up to 33 under Tavares, who stepped down in December. All promoted managers were internal.
Filosa, who will hold an online townhall with all Stellantis employees on Wednesday, also plans to meet all members of the senior management team in person once a month, the source said.
Cutting ties with tavares
Filosa, who turns 52 on Thursday, will for now be based mainly in Detroit. He was promoted to North American chief in October last year by Tavares, in one of his last moves to turn around the business before he quit.
The world’s fourth-largest automaker by sales had already embarked on a management shake-up in February under the steer of chair John Elkann, who started cutting ties with the Tavares era.
CFO Doug Ostermann and Technology and Engineering chief Ned Curic, two key figures in the group’s organisation, were confirmed in their roles on Monday, with Ostermann also taking charge of mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, the company said in a statement.
Jean-Philippe Imparato will continue to lead Stellantis’ European business.
The heads of all Stellantis’ 14 brands – which include Chrysler, Peugeot, Jeep, Fiat and Maserati – were also unchanged.
Maxime Picat, the group’s chief purchasing and supplier quality officer, who also applied for the CEO job and is now seen as a candidate to succeed Luca De Meo as CEO of Renault, has left Stellantis, the company said.
His functions will now be taken by Scott Thiele, in a dedicated and newly-created role of head of supply chain, and Monica Genovese, who was appointed head of purchasing. REUTERS
