Stellantis names Antonio Filosa as chief

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Stellantis has named its North American boss Antonio Filosa as chief executive, picking an internal candidate to rebuild its US business and navigate an industry upended by Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The board chose the 51-year-old Italian, who also used to lead its Jeep brand, to replace Carlos Tavares, who resigned abruptly in December following a sharp decline in sales in the US and Europe. 

“Antonio’s deep understanding of our company, including its people who he views as our core strength, and of our industry equip him perfectly for the role of chief executive officer in the next and crucial phase of Stellantis’ development,” chair John Elkann said on Wednesday.

The board will grant Filosa CEO powers from June 23 while it arranges an extraordinary shareholder meeting, which is needed to formally install him in the role.

The owner of the Peugeot, Fiat and Opel brands last month pulled its full-year forecasts owing to the uncertainty unleashed by the US president’s trade war.

According to people close to the process, the board looked at internal and external candidates, including Maxime Picat, chief purchasing officer, as well as Mike Manley, who previously ran its Jeep business and is now chief executive of car retailer AutoNation.

Investors had been hopeful that Elkann would once again find a surprise candidate after he plucked Sergio Marchionne from obscurity to run the nearly bankrupt Fiat in 2004. He also picked Benedetto Vigna, an electric components specialist from STMicroelectronics, to head Ferrari in 2021.

While the board had initially leaned towards an external candidate, one of the people said the tariff turmoil and geopolitical tensions had reinforced the need to find a leader who knew the company thoroughly. 

The two key conditions the board set were deep knowledge of the American market as well as the diplomatic skills needed to oversee 14 brands and navigate operations in France, Italy, Germany and the US.