TITLE: Executive vice president and CEO

COMPANY: Dacia

BASED: France

AGE: 57

NATIONALITY: French

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Denis Le Vot holds an engineering degree from the Ecole des Mines in Paris. He joined Renault in 1990 in sales and marketing, then held management positions in overseas operations, including in Russia, Belgium and Turkey before becoming vice president, marketing and sales for the Eurasia Region in 2007. Le Vot was named vice president sales and marketing for Europe in 2013, and became chairman of the Eurasia Region in 2016. He moved to alliance partner Nissan in 2018 as chairman of Nissan North America, and in 2019 became head of the alliance’s light commercial vehicle business unit. He was named executive vice president and CEO of Renault’s Romanian brand, Dacia, on Jan. 1, 2021.

REASON FOR WINNING

Dacia has been a clear success story for Renault Group, which acquired the Romanian brand in 1999 and launched the low-cost Logan project several years later. Dacia’s “design to cost” philosophy has won over millions of buyers in Europe with models such as the Duster small SUV and Sandero small hatchback. Now, Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo is trying to further unlock Dacia’s potential by moving into compact vehicles while still keeping prices low and value high.

Le Vot, a longtime Renault-Nissan Alliance executive with extensive overseas experience, is leading Dacia into a new era, starting in 2021 with the new Sandero and Sandero Stepway based on a modern alliance platform, and continuing this year with a new visual identity and the brand’s first compact, the Jogger multipurpose family car, which offers room for seven passengers and a versatile layout at well under 20,000 euros. Up next is a true compact SUV, which Le Vot and de Meo expect will win over even more customers to Dacia.