LUCA de Meo was today confirmed as the new chief executive of Renault.
The board of directors said the 52-year-old former Seat boss’s career, experience and success combined all the qualities to contribute to every aspect of Groupe Renault’s development and transformation.
Interim chief executive Clotilde Delbos will continue in her current role until he takes over on July 1. She will then assume the position of deputy chief executive.
The appointments have been made as Renault tries to bolster the alliance it has with Nissan and Mitsubishi, following the fall from grace of Carlos Ghosn, who was in charge of all three manufacturers until his arrest in Tokyo in November 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct and his subsequent flight from justice to Lebanon last month. He denies all the charges.
Renault dismissed chief executive Thierry Bollore last October in the wake of Nissan naming Makoto Uchida as its new CEO.
The Renault board said it had full confidence in the new governance of the group and wished the new leaders every success.
Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of the board of directors, said: ‘I am delighted with this new governance, which marks a decisive step for the group and for the alliance.
‘Luca de Meo is a great strategist and visionary of a rapidly changing automotive world. His expertise but also his passion for cars make him a real asset for the group.
‘I also thank Clotilde Delbos, who provides interim management of the group in an exceptional manner. She has demonstrated day after day her commitment and determination in the service of Renault.
‘Together with the support of a renewed and strengthened executive committee, they will form a high-quality, multi-talented team equal to Renault’s ambitions.’
De Meo began his career at Renault before joining Toyota Europe, then moving to the Fiat Group. He joined the Volkswagen Group in 2009 as marketing director then held the position of board member in charge of sales and marketing at Audi in 2012. He was chairman of the executive committee of Seat from November 2015 until this month.
Delbos began her career in California, then moved to Price Waterhouse in Paris before joining the Pechiney Group in 1992, holding various positions before becoming division financial director. After Pechiney’s acquisition by Alcan, she served as vice-president and business finance director of the engineered products division from 2005 until it was sold in 2011.
She joined Groupe Renault in 2012 as group controller and two years later was appointed alliance global director, control. In April 2016, she was made executive vice-president, chief financial officer of Groupe Renault, and was appointed interim CEO last October.
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