Posted on Jan. 26, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
White smoke at Renault. Just over three months later the ouster of Thierry Bolloré from the general management , the administrators of the former Régie should be able to comment at the start of the week on the appointment of their replacement. According to our information, unless last minute reversal, Renault hopes to be able to convene an extraordinary council at the start of the week. And it is the name of Luca de Meo, the former boss of SEAT, who will then be proposed.
Considered for several months as the favorite for the job , the 52-year-old Italian leader had resigned two weeks ago of his functions as chairman of the executive committee of the Spanish brand. However, an agreement still had to be reached with the Volkswagen group, the parent company of SEAT, which had concluded a non-compete contract with Luca de Meo.
The negotiations were complicated and took some time, but, according to several sources, they ended up being successful. “Everything is not yet fully finalized: nothing can be confirmed until it is signed”, puts a relative of the group into perspective. According to our information, discussions have been tight on the amount to be paid to Volkswagen, but also on the date of arrival of Luca de Meo at Renault.
Italian multilingual
Questioned in recent days in Davos, the bosses of Volkswagen and Renault had suggested that things were on the right track. Herbert Diess, chairman of the board of the giant Wolfsburg, had admitted that Luca de Meo was probably in talks with Renault. “He did a great job with us, but we agreed to let him go,” he said. For its part, the president of Renault, Jean-Dominique Senard, had said he hoped that the appointment of the new CEO of the Losange would intervene “in the coming days”.
The choice of Luca de Meo should in any case reassure the troops within the former Régie, after a particularly eventful year, marked by the Ghosn affair. The Renault council, like the French state which owns 15% of the Rhombus, absolutely wanted that the choice falls on an automotive professional . The polyglot Italian, who speaks French perfectly, has indeed spent his entire career in the sector.
Charisma and vision
Patron of Seat since 2015, this graduate of the prestigious Bocconi University in Milan, went through Toyota and Fiat before joining the Volkswagen group in 2009 – having even started his career at Renault. In four years, he brilliantly straightened the Spanish brand , now profitable after years in the red.
He has in any case largely won over the troops internally, where his charisma and vision of the automotive industry have impressed. However, his task will not be easy: between the relationship with Nissan to be rebuilt, and the hemorrhage of cash to be stopped within the Losange, the challenges that await him will be numerous and complex.