Global automaker Stellantis has confirmed that his long-tenured CEO, Carlos Tavares, will retire when his current contract expires in early 2026. The news was joined by additional executive shakeups as Stellantis has named new chiefs for its European and North American operations as well.
Carlos Tavares has been a mainstay in the global automotive industry well before Stellantis existed in its current iteration. The Portuguese executive joined Renault at an early age in the 1980s before working for Nissan in the mid-2000s through its alliance with Renault (now the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance).
In 2011, Tavares worked underneath Carlos Ghosn as the chief operating officer of Renault before butting heads with the controversial CEO and leaving the company in 2013. A year later, Tavares was back in the industry as CEO and chairman of the managing board of Peugeot S.A., where he led the acquisition of Opel and spearheaded the merger with Fiat Chrysler that would eventually evolve into Stellantis.
Carlos Tavares was the first-ever CEO of Stellantis and has held the reigns since, finding plenty of success while also putting his foot in his mouth on several occasions, especially as the industry continues to shift toward going all-electric.
Following rumors that began to swirl this past September, Stellantis has confirmed the Tavares era will come to an end when the CEO’s current contract expires, and it now has about one year to name his successor.
Stellantis to name its next CEO by late 2025
As reported by Automotive News Europe, Stellantis has confirmed current CEO Carlos Tavares will step down and retire when his contract expires in early 2026. The news follows previous reports that the automotive conglomerate was searching for a successor. However, Stellantis said there was still a chance Tavares could continue as its chief operating officer after his contract expires.
Per Stellantis, chairman John Elkann is leading a special committee overseeing the search to find a successor to Tavares and expects to name that individual by Q4 2025.
While we await that news, Stellantis has announced several other personnel changes effective immediately. Jean-Philippe Imparato has been appointed chief operating officer for Stellantis Europe and will remain CEO of the Pro One LCV division. He will replace current COO Uwe Hochgeschurtz, who is leaving the company.
Santo Ficili will take over as CEO of Alfa Romeo and Maserati, inheriting the previous leadership roles of Imparto and Davide Grasso, respectively. Stellantis has not announced Grasso’s next position or whether he will remain with the company.
Current Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa will take on a new dual role that now includes chief operating officer of Stellantis North America, taking over for Carlos Zarlenga, whose next role has yet to be shared publicly.
Looking back, Tavares’ run as CEO of PSA and Stellantis features plenty of success and leadership. However, recent years have proven more challenging for the world’s fourth-largest automaker, especially sales in North America.
The company recently lowered its annual forecast from positive cash flow to negative, sending its stock tumbling. While the prospect of fresh leadership at the CEO may help ease investors’ worries, the immediate executive shakeups (21 senior management changes in the last 12 months) exemplify a struggling company’s efforts to find its footing.
Despite Tavares’ waffling over EV adoption, he helped set Stellantis on a path to make 100% of its passenger car sales in Europe and 50% of passenger cars and light-duty trucks in the US to be EVs by 2030. Stellantis and Tavares’ successor must pick up the pieces and push forward when the current CEO retires.
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