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Stellantis has named its North American boss Antonio Filosa as chief executive, picking an internal candidate to boost its US business and navigate an industry disrupted by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The board chose the 51-year-old Italian, who 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.
“This company is in my blood and I couldn’t be more proud of the chance to work with all of you,” Filosa said in an internal memo to employees.
Filosa will formally become chief executive from June 23 while the board arranges the extraordinary shareholder meeting required to install him in the job.
Shares in Stellantis, which was formed in 2021 from the merger of France’s PSA and Italy’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, were up 0.6 per cent in Paris on Wednesday.
The owner of the Peugeot, Fiat and Opel brands last month cancelled its full-year forecasts after the uncertainty caused by Trump’s trade war.
The exit of Tavares, who had led the carmaker since 2021, came as Stellantis has wrestled with rising inventory in the US and political tensions in its historic bases of Italy and France, where it has significant manufacturing and labour forces.
Under the interim leadership of chair John Elkann, Filosa has worked to repair relations with governments and with dealers and suppliers. The group announced a multibillion-dollar investment in the US in January.
According to people close to the selection process, the board looked at internal and external candidates, including Maxime Picat, chief purchasing officer, and Mike Manley, who previously ran its Jeep business and is now chief executive of car retailer AutoNation.
“During this extensive process, Antonio stood out as our unanimous choice for the job, thanks to his deep understanding of our company, his operational abilities, and broad industry knowledge,” Elkann told employees.
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. Marchionne successfully turned around the business.
Elkann also chose Benedetto Vigna, an electric components specialist from STMicroelectronics, to run Ferrari in 2021.
While the board had initially leaned towards an external candidate, one of the people said the tariff turmoil had reinforced the need to find a leader who knew the company well and had broad regional experience.
Filosa is well regarded in Stellantis for his work on developing its brand in South America. He strengthened Jeep’s presence in Brazil and also headed FCA’s operations in Argentina between 2016 and 2018.
He was appointed chief operating officer for the Americas in December, as part of a shake-up of the leadership team after Tavares’s departure, and further promoted to chief quality officer in January.
A native of Naples, he joined Fiat in 1999, starting as a paint shop quality supervisor at a plant in Spain.
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