Big Three Auto Executives 2022: Stellantis

DBusiness Magazine lists the top executives at Stellantis based on information from the automaker and DBusiness research as of August 11, 2022. Photos courtesy of Stellantis.
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Stars Align – Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares oversees a multinational enterprise featuring 16 brands, from Abarth and Alfa Romeo to Ram and Vauxhall. // All photos courtesy of Stellantis

Tavares..cx2psd copyCarlos Tavares
CEO

Tavares was appointed the first CEO and executive director of Stellantis in January 2021. Previously, he served as chairman of the managing board of Groupe PSA. A native of Portugal, Tavares graduated from École Centrale de Paris and held various positions within the Renault Group between 1981 and 2004, before joining the Nissan Group when Renault and Nissan became partners in the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Tavares is passionate about cars, car collecting, and racing.

 


Blaise.cx copyBertrand Blaise
Chief Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer

Blaise began his career at Renault in 1990 as product and technology communication manager, and was assigned to Japan in 1999 as head of the Renault liaison office in Tokyo to contribute to the start of the Renault Nissan Alliance. He was appointed Renault Group Asia Pacific communication VP in 2000, covering the corporate, product, and Formula 1 communications activities in South Korea. Blaise joined French train manufacturer Alstom Transport Division as VP in 2007, and in 2014 joined Groupe PSA as senior vice president.


Bonnefont.cx copyYves Bonnefont
Chief Software Officer

Bonnefont joined Groupe PSA in 2012 as executive vice president, corporate strategy, where he contributed to the group’s turnaround plan, including its brand differentiation strategy, and created the connected vehicle business unit. In 2013, he was appointed Citroën deputy CEO in charge of its premium sub-brand, DS Automobiles, and later served as the first CEO for DS Automobiles. In January 2020, he was appointed executive vice president in charge of high-end brand development during preparations for the merger with FCA.


Bourges.cx copyOlivier Bourges
Chief Planning Officer

Bourges joined PSA in 2014 as general secretary. He became planning executive vice president in 2018, and was in charge of company strategic planning and business development, global product planning, vehicle programs management, and corporate CO2 management. Bourges was also responsible within the global executive committee for the sales finance activities. Prior to joining PSA, he held several positions in Renault. At Nissan, he was responsible for planning and program management in North America.


giacomo_carelli.cxGiacomo Carelli
Chief Executive Officer, Leasys; Head of FCA Bank

Carelli has experience in financial management, marketing, finance, and business operations. He joined Fiat Group in 1996 as a product marketing specialist for Fga Capital in Spain. He has served FCA Bank as Switzerland country manager, group head of marketing and sales, country manager for Greece, and Greece marketing and sales. Carelli was appointed CEO and general manager of FCA Bank and chairman of Leasys in July 2014. He has an MBA from the University of West London and a master’s from Rome’s La Sapienza University.


Chereau.cx copyXavier Chéreau
Chief Human Resources and Transformation Officer

Chéreau joined Groupe PSA in 1994 and subsequently held the position of employment and mobility manager for Europe. He has served as senior vice president, industrial and R&D division human resources, director of human resources development, executive vice president of human resources of Groupe PSA, and as a member of the global executive committee. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Institut Sciences Politiques de Paris.


samir_cherfan.cxSamir Cherfan
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Free2Move

Cherfan started his career with Renault Group in 1992 and held management positions in research, engineering, and modules development and production. He joined the program management department for seven years and became program director of mid-range models designed for international markets. In 2010, Cherfan was named managing director of the eastern Paris retail network at Renault Retail Group. He joined Nissan Group in the Middle East in 2012 as sales and marketing director, and moved to Groupe PSA in 2017.


vincent_cobee.cxVincent Cobée
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Citroën

Cobée has international experience in strategic positions in Europe, North America, and Asia in the construction and automotive industries. He began his career in France’s state public works department, then joined Egis Projects in 1996 in Canada as new projects manager, then went to the Philippines in 1997, where he was promoted to project director for the Manila North Tollways. Cobée joined Nissan Motor Corp. in Tokyo in 2002, serving as head of purchasing for Nissan Europe and program director for Nissan in Japan.


Courtehoux.cx copyBrigitte Courtehoux
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Free2Move

Courtehoux joined Groupe PSA in 1998 and held planning and quality manager positions on a variety of car projects. Between 2010 and 2013, as global project director, she successfully managed and launched the Peugeot Crossover “2008” in the European, Latin American, and Chinese markets. In 2018, Courtehoux was named executive vice president and a member of Groupe PSA’s global executive committee. At the beginning of 2020, her responsibilities included the Business Lab, Groupe PSA’s new business incubator.


ned_curic.cxNed Curic
Chief Technology Officer

Appointed in August 2021, Curic manages all information technology resources for the group. Beginning in June 2017, he served as vice president, Alexa Automotive, at Amazon, spearheading Amazon’s efforts in the automotive industry. He began his career in 1996 in engineering systems at Northrop Grumman, a multinational aerospace and defense technology company. After a short stint in the financial industry, in 2000 Curic joined Microsoft. He entered the automotive sector in 2013 as group vice president and chief technology officer at Toyota Motor North America.


De-Rovira.cx copyPhillipe de Rovira
Chief Affiliates Officer (Sales Finance, Used Cars, Parts and Service, Retail Network)

De Rovira joined Groupe PSA in 1998 and held various positions in corporate and manufacturing finance before becoming financial controller in the Madrid and Poissy (France) plants. In 2009, he was named CFO for Latin America, and became controller of the PSA sales division in 2012. In 2013, he was appointed senior VP and took responsibility for B2B and used cars sales, network development and quality of service, CRM and digital, outbound logistics, and car flow.


Deboeuf.cx copyArnaud DeBouef
Chief Manufacturing Officer

Deboeuf’s background is in process engineering, manufacturing, program development, and purchasing in France and South Korea. He started his career at Renault in 1993 as powertrain process engineer. In 2002, he joined purchasing to take responsibility at Renault Samsung Motors in South Korea. He returned to France to develop the Dacia Duster crossover. Deboeuf was appointed senior VP of the Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO office in 2015. He joined Groupe PSA in 2019 as senior VP for industrial strategy.


Delay.cx copyEmmanuel Delay
Chief Performance Officer

Delay has built an international career in general management, finance, and strategy, with more than 20 years’ experience in the automotive industry and other industrial sectors. He has led global projects and teams across Asia, Europe, and the U.S. Delay began his career with Société Générale and General Electric in London, and spent seven years with Booz & Co. in Paris and Chicago, leading strategy and transformation projects for global automotive clients. He joined Nissan in Tokyo in 2002.


xavier_duchemin.cxXavier Duchemin
Senior Vice President, Eurasia

Duchemin has an international background in sales and marketing. He started his career at Citroën in 1991 and served as managing director for Citroën Austria between 2003 and 2005, and for Citroën U.K. between 2005 and 2008. Duchemin was marketing director for Citroën between 2009 and 2012, and launched the DS model in 2009. Between 2012 and 2017, he was managing director for Peugeot France, and from 2017 until March 2018 he was in charge of PSA Retail in Europe. Duchemin joined Opel-Vauxhall in 2018.


Christine_Feuell.cxChristine Feuell
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Chrysler

Feuell is a well-recognized senior marketing executive with extensive experience in automotive, omni-channel supply chain automation systems, and smart building technologies industries. Her career has included sales, marketing, product management, and profit and loss leadership at Ford Motor Co., Johnson Controls, and Honeywell, and she has a strong track record of delivering profitable growth through integrated products, software, and services. She has a degree in marketing and economics from Michigan State.


antonio_filosa.cxAntonio Filosa
COO, South America

Filosa has responsibility for Latin America. He succeeds Mike Manley, former head of Americas, who left the company to become CEO of AutoNation Inc. Filosa has extensive experience in purchasing and manufacturing operations activities, as well as overall business management and strategy. He joined the Fiat Group in 1999 and was responsible for all purchasing activities in the Latin America region. Filosa held positions at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, including plant manager of the Betim facility in Brazil. He was the head of Alfa Romeo and Maserati for the Latin America region.


GiorgioFossatiGiorgio Fossati
General Counsel

Fossati worked in positions of increasing responsibility in the legal departments at Fiat S.p.A. and Iveco S.p.A. He served as general counsel for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles since 2011 and also was general counsel for FCA’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. Previously, he was general counsel for Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. He serves on the board of directors of FCA Italy S.p.A., Teksid S.p.A., Fiat Chrysler Finance S.p.A., Fidis S.p.A., FCA Partecipazioni S.p.A., Fiat Chrysler Risk Management S.p.A., Abarth & C. S.p.A., FCA Poland S.A., and FCA Group Marketing S.p.A.


beatrice_foucher.cxBéatrice Foucher
Brand Chief Executive Officer, DS Automobiles

Foucher has 30 years of experience in quality, product planning, program, HR talent development, and general brand development. She joined the Renault Group in 1990 as audit quality manager doing plant audits, and then moved to product planning, where she served as chief of product, director of the upper range, and director of product planning for five brands. Foucher led the internationalization of the product range of the group. In 2012, she became vice president of the EV program, leading the development of four products.


Francois.cx copyOlivier François
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Fiat and Abarth; Global Chief Marketing Officer

Before joining Fiat in 2005, François worked in positions of increasing responsibility at Citroën, including CEO. He was the lead executive for the Lancia brand beginning in September 2005. From January 2009 to March 2013, François was the head of brand marketing communication for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with responsibility for coordinating communication activities for all brands. In October 2009, he was appointed president and CEO for the Chrysler brand at Chrysler Group, LLC.


Gilles_Ralph_V.cx copyRalph Gilles
Chief Design Officer, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Maserati, Fiat Latin America

Gilles joined Chrysler Corp.’s design office in 1992 and was appointed VP, interior design Jeep/truck and specialty vehicles in 2006. He also served as president and CEO, Motorsports; president and CEO, SRT brand; and president and CEO, Dodge brand for FCA US, LLC. Gilles was named VP, design in September 2008, and he also led the FCA North America product design office beginning in June 2009. He is global head of design and was a member of the FCA Group Executive Council.


Davide_Grasso.cx copyDavide Grasso
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Maserati

Grasso was named chief operating officer of Maserati in July 2019, with responsibility for overall commercial and financial performance and for driving its operating success across all global markets. He was appointed a member of the FCA Group Executive Council in July 2019. Grasso joined Nike in 2001 and held positions with increasing responsibility, including chief marketing officer. He also served as CEO for Nike subsidiary Converse Inc., where he engineered the brand for long-term sustainable growth. Grasso holds a master’s degree.


uwe hochgeschurtz.cxUwe Hochgeschurtz
Chief Operating Officer, Enlarged Europe

Hochgeschurtz was brand CEO for Opel and Vauxhall before joining Stellantis in September 2021. He has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, beginning with Ford in 1990, where he was sales director for Ford Switzerland and product manager and head of light commercial vehicle marketing in Germany. In 2001, he moved to Volkswagen as head of worldwide LCV marketing. Hochgeschurtz later moved to Renault, where he eventually was appointed CEO of Renault Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in June 2016.


Huettl-florian.cxFlorian Huettl
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Opel and Vauxhall

Huettl leads the commercial development of the only German brand and the only British brand in Stellantis’ portfolio and their transition into the electric era. Previously, he was head of sales and marketing for Opel and Vauxhall for Enlarged Europe. Huettl joined Stellantis in March 2021 after serving in numerous senior automotive management positions in the U.K., Germany, and Russia. He is an international business management graduate from the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany.


Imparato.cx copyJean-Phillipe Imparato
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Alfa Romeo

Imparato’s 30-year career at Groupe PSA has focused on sales, quality, and retail activities. He was in charge of Mercosur for Citroën in 1998 before joining the central corporate team in charge of international organization and audit for Groupe PSA in 2000. Imparato was later appointed vice president in charge of quality in the Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles joint venture in Wuhan, China, in 2003. He was named director of Peugeot international operations and director of European sales and marketing activities in 2012.


linda_jackson.cxLinda Jackson
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Peugeot

Jackson has built her experience across the auto industry with finance and commercial roles at Jaguar, Land Rover, and Rover Group, where she went from regional financial manager for Rover Europe in the late ‘90s to European sales finance director for the MG Rover Group until 2004. She joined Groupe PSA in 2005 as finance director of Citroën U.K. and then of Citroën France from 2009 to 2010. She became CEO of Citroën U.K. and Ireland in July 2010. In 2014, Jackson was appointed the global CEO of the Citroën brand.


Koskas.cx copyThierry Koskas
Chief Sales and Marketing Officer

Koskas began his career in 1990 as a civil servant in France’s north region government office in charge of nuclear safety, then in the Ministry of Industry as industry general director chief of staff. In 1995, he served as an adviser in the Ministry of Agriculture. Koskas joined Renault Group in 1997 and served in sales and marketing roles. He moved to London as general manager of Renault London City branch, then to Hungary in 2000 as managing director of Renault NSC. In 2009, Koskas was appointed as program director for EVs.


Koval.cx copyMike Koval
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Ram

Koval joined the company in 2002 and has held a variety of positions in sales, brand, and purchasing, which included being named head of Ram brand operations in 2016, where he handled vehicle and media mix optimization and pricing strategies. He was named head of Ram brand, FCA North America in June 2020, with responsibility for sales and marketing operations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He also oversaw Ram’s international sales and marketing operations. Koval holds a bachelor’s degree from CMU.


Kuniskis_Timothy.cx copyTimothy Kuniskis
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Dodge and Chrysler (Interim)

Kuniskis joined the former Chrysler Corp. in 1992 and held a series of positions in the company’s business center operations and marketing organization. He became a member of FCA’s Group Executive Council in October 2015. Kuniskis served as president and CEO, Dodge and SRT brands, FCA North America, head of the Fiat and Jeep brands in North America, and head of Maserati. He was named global head of Alfa Romeo in February 2018 and head of passenger cars, North America, in June 2019.


Meunier.cx copyChristian Meunier
Brand Chief Executive Officer, Jeep

Meunier began his career at Ford Motor Co. in France in key sales and marketing positions. He moved to Nissan in 2002, where he served as division vice president of Infiniti global sales, marketing, and operations; senior VP of sales, marketing, and operations for Nissan North America; chairman, Nissan Canada; and president of Canada and Brazil. He served as chairman and global president for Infiniti Motor Co. Ltd. Meunier was global president of the Jeep brand and a member of  the FCA Group Executive Council.


nicolas_morel.cxNicolas Morel
Deputy Chief Engineering Officer

Morel has spent his entire career in Groupe PSA’s research and development function. In May 2021, he also became head of Europe Middle East Africa technical centers. He joined Groupe PSA in 1992 and worked as electric and electronic project manager for Citroën Saxo, project cost leader for Citroën Saxo and Peugeot 106, and project leader for the reskin of the Peugeot Partner, Citroën Berlingo, and Citroën Xsara Picasso. In 2014, he moved to China to lead the design and R&D center in Shanghai. In 2019, he was made the group’s executive vice president of global R&D.


christophe_musy.cxChristophe Musy
Senior Vice President, ASEAN

Musy’s career path is focused on the field of commerce in different sites and regions. He joined Groupe PSA in 1990 and held marketing positions for the Citroën brand in France. He then moved to the Citroën Europe sales division. In 1997, Musy was appointed vice president, head of European importers, and in 2000 head of Citroën Belgium Luxemburg. In 2007, he was appointed senior vice president, head of Citroën Germany, and in 2009 he was named head of Citroën Northern Europe, including Germany, the U.K., Benelux, and Scandinavia. 


luca_napolitano.cxLuca Napolitano
Brand Chief Executive, Lancia

After working in the Ford Italia sales organization, Napolitano joined the Fiat Group in 2000 as a business management manager in Italy, and held roles within the sales and marketing areas in Spain and Italy. He has led the Spain and Portugal Business Center, EMEA fleet sales, and EMEA minor markets. Napolitano was appointed head of Fiat and Abarth brands for FCA’s EMEA region in 2017, having served as the head of the Fiat brand in EMEA from 2015. He has an MBA from the University of Rome.


gregoire_olivier.cxGregoire Olivier
Chief Operating Officer, China (interim, in charge of Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile Co.)

Olivier started as a civil servant in the French Ministry of Industry in 1984 and was appointed adviser to the prime minister for industry and environment in 1990. From 1992 to 1998, he worked for French aluminum firm Pechiney. He started at PSA in 2006 as CEO of Faurecia. In 2016, Olivier was named senior vice president, mobility services, and became general secretary for Groupe PSA in 2018, in addition to supervising Chinese activities since April 2020.


Palmer_Richard.cx copyRichard Palmer
Chief Financial Officer

Palmer served as finance manager for several business units at General Electric Oil & Gas, Price Waterhouse, and United Technologies Corp. He served as CFO of FCA US, LLC from 2009 to 2017; CFO of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. from December 2006; and CFO of Iveco from June 2005. Palmer was appointed CFO and named a member of the FCA Group Executive Council in September 2011. He was responsible for all financial activities of the group. He was named head of business development in July 2018. In April 2019, he was appointed to the FCA board of directors.


maxime_picat.cxMaxime Picat
Chief Purchasing and Supply Chain Officer

In January 2021, Picat replaced Michelle Wen, who left the company. Picat joined Groupe PSA in 1998. After various jobs in manufacturing, he became manufacturing manager at the group’s plant in Sochaux, France, before being named managing director for the manufacturing facility of Wuhan, China, in 2007. In 2011, he was appointed managing director of the Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobiles joint venture in China, and in 2012 he was named CEO of the Peugeot brand. From 2016 to January 2021, he was executive vice president for Europe.


jean-pierre_ploue.cxJean-Piere Ploué
Chief Design Officer: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Fiat Europe, Lancia, Opel, Peugeot, Vauxhal

Ploué’s automotive career has included strategic roles at Renault, Volkswagen, Ford, Citroën, Peugeot, and DS Automobiles. He joined Groupe PSA in 2000, serving as Citroën’s design director, and became the group’s head of design in 2008. Ploué initiated the DS product line in 2006, which included the DS Automobiles premium brand in 2014. He became the senior vice president of design for Groupe PSA in 2016.


Richard_Schwarzwald_cv.cx copyRichard Schwarzwald
Chief Customer Experience Officer

Schwarzwald joined Fiat Automobiles in 2004 as the senior VP for quality, and supplier quality director for the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Maserati brands. In 2007, he was named quality assurance director for Volkswagen South America, where he was responsible for the manufacturing quality of six plants in Brazil and Argentina. He also oversaw quality strategy and certification, supplier quality engineering, and product reliability. He rejoined FCA Group in 2016 and served as head of quality for the Latin America region.


carl_smiley.cxCarl Smiley
COO, India and Asia Pacific

Smiley began his career at General Motors. Beginning in 2006, he held a number of advancing roles at Magna Steyr including executive director, purchasing — Asia Pacific; vice president, operations and purchasing, Magna Powertrain – Asia; and president and board member, Magna Steyr—Asia. Smiley was named senior vice president and general manager for technology firm TE Connectivity for the Asia Pacific Region in 2012, and in 2019 he was appointed chief purchasing and supply chain officer for FCA.


MarkStewartsejgjn2f1spd1vapa9j8kj9qh2.cx copyMark Stewart
Chief Operating Officer, North America

Stewart assumes responsibility for North America, succeeding Mike Manley, former head of Americas, who left the company to become CEO of AutoNation Inc. Stewart spent the first years of his career in manufacturing with TRW Inc., and later Tower Automotive Inc. He has been based in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, and China in a variety of positions in production, quality, and engineering. Stewart was named vice president of operations for Amazon in 2017. He was appointed COO for FCA’s North America region in December 2018.


Vernetti.cx copySilvia Vernetti
Global Corporate Office

Vernetti held consultant roles at Bain & Co. in Italy and Andersen Consulting prior to joining Fiat S.p.A in 2004, where she was responsible for business development and joint ventures coordination for Fidis, the group’s consumer finance unit. She also served as the head of business development for FCA’s Europe Middle East Africa region beginning in 2009, and head of FCA Serbia from 2011. During this period, she also led the Fiat Group Auto Alliances Management and Strategic Planning function, where she managed alliances with key industrial partners.


Harald WesterHarald Wester
Chief Engineering Officer

Wester started his professional career at Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg, where he was general manager of the vehicle research and new concepts department from 1991 to 1995. He later joined Audi AG in Ingolstadt as program manager for the A2 models and special vehicles. Wester joined Ferrari S.p.A. at Maranello as director of product development, where he remained until 2002. He joined Fiat Group in 2004, and was appointed CTO in 2007 and COO of Maserati in 2018. He also served as head of Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Abarth.


Tobin_J_Williams.cxTobin J. Williams
Senior Vice President for Human Resources, North America

Williams is responsible for leading a regional team focusing on human resources strategy, talent and leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and supporting the company’s efforts to achieve its long-term strategy as outlined in its Dare Forward 2030 plan. Previously, he was vice president of human resources for the Acute Care and Physician Group at ProMedica Healthcare Systems in Toledo, Ohio. Before joining Promedica, Williams had a 35-year career at General Motors.


Stellantis Board of Directors

John Elkann
Chairman, Executive Director

Carlos Tavares
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director

Robert Peugeot
Vice Chairman, Non-executive Director, Remuneration Committee Member

Henri de Castries
Senior Independent Director, Chairperson Environmental, Social and Governance Committee, Audit Committee Member, Remuneration Committee Member

Andrea Agnelli
Non-executive Director, Remuneration Committee Member, Environmental, Social and Governance Committee Member

Jacques de Saint-Exupéry
Non-executive Director

Fiona Clare Cicconi
Non-executive Director, Remuneration Committee Member, Environmental, Social and Governance Committee Member

Nicolas Dufourcq
Non-executive Director, Environmental, Social and Governance Committee Member

Ann Frances Godbehere
Non-executive Director, Chairperson, Audit Committee

Wan Ling Martello
Non-executive Director, Chairperson, Remuneration Committee, Audit Committee Member

Kevin Scott
Non-executive Director, Environmental, Social and Governance Committee Member

The Stellantis board of directors can be viewed here.