Aston Martin's new CEO Felisa 'will stay for foreseeable future,' owner Stroll says

Aston Martin Chairman Lawrence Stroll refuted suggestions that incoming CEO Amedeo Felisa, 76, is an interim hire.

Stroll outlined plans to build a new technical team around Felisa, a former CEO of Ferrari.

"Amedeo is with us for the foreseeable future," Stroll told investors on Aston Martin's first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday after the automaker announced that Felisa is replacing Tobias Moers as Aston Martin's CEO.

Felisa was Ferrari CEO from 2008 to 2016 and more recently has been advising the Silk-FAW electric hypercar joint venture.

"I don't think I've met a more energetic gentleman in my life. He is up for this task," Stroll said in response to a question asking whether Felisa's age meant he would be a temporary CEO. "No-one else has seen the movie and written the script like Amedeo has done at Ferrari for what we're trying to accomplish."

In the call, Stroll positioned Moers, who joined Aston Martin in 2020 from Mercedes-AMG, as an interim CEO hired to overhaul the automaker during a period of financial instability.

"It was much more about cleaning up operationally, about improving manufacturing, about solidifying the supply chain and coming to a new agreement that was reached with Mercedes," Stroll said. "That was phase one. And for that Tobias did an excellent job."

Felisa and Aston Martin's new chief technical officer, former Ferrari CTO Roberto Fedeli, were hired to replace Moers for the next step in the automaker's journey, Stroll said.

"Phase two is about growth, innovation technology and scale," he said.

Next year Aston Martin will launch updates for its three front-engine sports cars: the Vantage, DB11 and DBS.

Felisa spoke briefly on the call to outline his tasks. "My immediate objective will be to implement a new organizational structure," he said.

The new team will focus on broadening the company's engineering capability as well as focusing on purchasing, he added.

Stroll said both Felisa and Fedeli have the experience needed to move Aston Martin toward electrification.

The company plans to launch its first plug-in hybrid in 2024 -- the Valhalla hypercar -- and its first full-electric car in 2025.

Fedeli, who worked at Ferrari from 1988 to 2014, is considered the creator of the La Ferrari hybrid supercar that debuted under Felisa's leadership.

After leaving Ferrari, Fedeli worked on the i8 plug-in hybrid roadster for BMW.

Further hirings to expand Aston Martin's engineering team will be announced "in a couple of weeks," Stroll said.

The new team will deliver "cohesiveness within the organization," Stroll said.

One of the criticisms leveled at Moers was that he alienated employees with a divisive management style.

Analysts expect Felisa's appointment to help stabilize the automaker's management.