Stellantis appoints Carlos Zarlenga as new North America COO
Stellantis announced on Tuesday the appointment of Carlos Zarlenga as its Chief Operating Officer for North America effective February 1, replacing Mark Stewart to leverage “further improvements” in its performance in the region.
Zarlenga is currently president of Stellantis Mexico, which increased sales, market share and return on investment in 2023, ending the year with the best profit level ever recorded in that market. He joined Stellantis in 2022 from General Motors, where he was previously president of GM South America.
“In the very demanding North American market with many obstacles to overcome in order to foster the performance of the Company, Carlos Zarlenga is the best leader among our talent pool to replace Mark Stewart and to drive the change in our business model towards electrification in the region,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “Carlos Zarlenga has demonstrated his ability to bring together and unite diverse teams and to deliver the expected results.”
In the statement, Tavares thanked Stewart and wished him “the best in his new position.” Although Stellantis did not comment further about Stewart’s future or the reasons for the leadership change, two days later, on January 18, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co named Mark Stewart as its CEO, to succeed long-time top boss Richard Kramer. Stewart became chief operating officer of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles North America in 2018 and was COO of Stellantis North America for three years.
