The departure of former chief executive Carlos Tavares at the end of 2024 had already marked a turning point in the organisation of European car manufacturer Stellantis, which now wants to tighten up its management, with the aim of speeding up decision-making. The successor to the former CEO has still not been appointed. That will have to wait until the end of the first half of the year. But the group announced further changes, mainly in France, at the start of the year.
“Building on the changes made in December, today’s announcements will further simplify our organization and increase our local agility and rigor of execution. We look forward to driving growth by providing our customers with an even larger choice of great combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles,” said Stellantis chairman John Elkann, who a number of changes the morning of Monday 3 February.
These include the appointment of Bob Broderdorf as head of the Jeep brand. Broderdorf has been with Stellantis for four years and previously worked for FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Alain Favey joins the carmaker as head of Peugeot, succeeding Linda Jackson. Until the beginning of the year, he was managing director of Europcar Mobility. “Can’t wait to discover the blend of heritage, innovation and design which has made the brand attractive to so many customers over the years. Can’t wait to meet the Peugeot teams around the world, who I have always appreciated myself as a colleague, a competitor, a dealer or lately as a B2B customer. Can’t wait to work closely with the Stellantis colleagues, many of whom I already know, to guide Peugeot through another phase of success in this time of fast transformation for the European automotive industry,” he commented on his Linkedin profile.
Xavier Peugeot has been appointed head of the DS Automobiles brand. He spent 26 years with the PSA Group before becoming head of the Stellantis Pro One. C. He will be replaced in this position by Anne Abboud.
Antonio Filosa, whose name has often been put forward as a potential successor to Tavares, will take over as global head of quality, in addition to his current role as COO Americas.
Clara Ingen-Housz will take over as head of corporate affairs and communications, two departments that have been combined to “better support the company’s constant engagement with all its stakeholders.” The company has also created a new marketing office, to be managed by Olivier François, which will bring together marketing professionals. The group’s software activities have also been integrated into a “product development and technology” organisation headed by Ned Curic. Previously president of Alexa Automotive (Amazon), he joined Stellantis in 2021 as CTO, reporting to Tavares.
In addition to Linda Jackson, three other former PSA employees are leaving the group as a result of this reorganisation: Yves Bonnefont (former head of the software business), Brigitte Courtehoux (former head of the Free2move entity) and Olivier Bourges.
“Through targeted organisational adjustments, the regions now have enhanced local decision-making and execution capabilities in respect of product planning, product development, industrial and commercial activities, while maintaining coordination with the company’s global functions to best serve their customers,” explains the manufacturer’s press release.
In 2024, Stellantis registered sales of 5.41m Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Fiat, Opel, Jeep and Ram vehicles worldwide. In Europe, Stellantis was the second biggest seller (1.9m vehicles in Europe), behind Volkswagen (3.4m). This represents a fall of 7.3% compared with 2023.
This article was originally published in .