Along with the appointment on Monday, February 3 of Xavier Peugeot to head DS Automobiles brand and oversee Heritage, Stellantis announced additional management shake-up structure;
- Linda Johnson retires as Peugeot CEO. She will be replaced by Alain Favey who joins Stellantis from rental company Europcar. Before becoming CEO of Peugeot for 4 years, Jackson was CEO of Citroën for six years, from 2014 to 2020. Prior to that she was managing director of Citroën in the UK and Ireland where she progressed from Finance Director to Managing Director, and earlier had roles at Jaguar, Land Rover and Rover Group.
- Head of North American operations Antonio Filosa, who is seen as a candidate to become the group’s new CEO, is taking on the additional role of global chief for quality.
- Anne Abboud inherits Stellantis’ Pro One commercial vehicles unit from Jean-Philippe Imparato, who has been leading Stellantis European operations since October.
- Also as part of the reorganization plan, Stellantis has integrated its software and engineering activities under Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Ned Curic.
Chief Software Officer Yves Bonnefont, a veteran of both Stellantis and previously Peugeot owner PSA, is leaving the group.
Stellantis also said it was giving greater powers to its regional heads in product planning and development and in industrial and commercial activities.
The search for a new permanent CEO is “well under way”, the company’s interim executive committee led by Chairman John Elkann said in a statement, reiterating that the process would be concluded in the first half of this year.
Today’s announcements will further simplify our organization and increase our local agility and rigour of execution.”
Carlos Tavares managed the merger between PSA and Fiat Chrysler in early 2021. He then served as CEO of Stellantis but abruptly quit late last year after differences with leading shareholders following a profit warning in September.
A merger that looked good in the accounting office but has never yet produced the promised benefits of the foreseen synergy, and its timing was just about the worst. Too many: brands; older N. American and Italian models; capacity; ex-executives; and corporate strategic plans. And too little financial leeway; profitability; and not enough differentiation of its volume brands. Will it turn out to be a case of, “It did not work well for the Germans (Daimler) or the Italians (FIAT), so let’s see if we French (PSA) can make it work”. It does not look good for Citroën (or DS).