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TITLE: CEO 
COMPANY: Renault Group
BASED: Paris 
AGE: 56
NATIONALITY: Italian

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Luca de Meo, a native of Milan, Italy, received a degree in business administration from the Luigi Boccioni Commercial University in his hometown. He started his career at Renault Group before joining Toyota Motor Europe and then the Fiat Group, where he managed the Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia brands. De Meo joined Volkswagen Group in 2009 as marketing director for the group and VW brand. In 2012 he became head of sales and marketing at Audi, and in 2015 was named CEO of the Seat brand, as well as a member of the supervisory boards for Ducati and Lamborghini. He joined Renault Group as CEO in July 2020. De Meo is also the current president of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

REASON FOR WINNING

De Meo joined Renault at a time when the group was suffering record losses. In January 2021 he revealed his Renaulution turnaround plan, which has three concurrent phases: Resurrection (a return to profitability); Renovation (reorganizing by brands, new product plan) and Revolution (transformation to become a “Next Gen” automotive company). Under de Meo, Renault achieved its 2025 profitability target in 2022; and the Renault and Dacia brands have launched key new compact and midsize models to realize higher margins, with Alpine set to become a full-fledged brand in the coming years.

Now, de Meo has embarked on perhaps the most ambitious phase, Revolution, by spinning off internal-combustion engine development and production in Horse, a joint venture with Geely and Aramco; and by planning a public listing for Ampere, which will include all of the group’s electric vehicle activities. He has also helped to bring about a realignment of the alliance with Nissan, which will invest in Ampere. Other intitiatives include The Future Is Neutral, a unit that consolidates the group’s “circular economy” activities. Of the new Renault Group, de Meo says: “Look at it as a tree with branches.”