Jeep-maker Stellantis names insider to lead revival

By Giulio Piovaccari

MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis named its North American chief Antonio Filosa as its new chief executive on Wednesday, as it seeks to revive the performance and shares of the multinational automaker.

Filosa, an Italian national replaces Carlos Tavares, who stepped down in December after a fall in profits and sales. He will officially be CEO from June 23, when he will also announce a new leadership team, the company said.

The tasks are daunting as the global car industry seeks to navigate the chaotic trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.

For Filosa and Stellantis, the focus is on trying to revive profits in the major U.S. market. The company also needs to rationalise Stellantis' portfolio of 14 brands, which analysts say could mean axing some of them.

The board's choice was unanimous and was based on Filosa's "proven track record of hands-on success during his more than 25 years in the automotive industry," the company said.

Shares in the carmaker, the world's fourth largest by sales, whose brands include Chrysler, Peugeot and Jeep, were slightly higher in morning trade, a muted reaction for a much-anticipated appointment.

The Milan-listed shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value since early last year.

Some investors said Filosa had relatively limited experience in North America and that an outsider would be better positioned to shake up the business.

However, Fabio Caldato, a portfolio manager at AcomeA SGR, which holds Stellantis shares, said Filosa had the right profile, with his specific knowledge of the U.S. market, as well as of the local culture from a negotiating perspective.

"His operational rather than financial curriculum is further proof of Stellantis' quest to have a CEO prepared to handle both its business revival and its wider transition to electrification," he said.

Analysts at Italian broker Intermonte were more cautious, saying Filosa's appointment was not expected to have a strong impact, as his experience in North America was limited.

TAVARES WAS GROUP'S FIRST CEO

Following Tavares' abrupt departure in December, the automaker has been provisionally led by its Chairman John Elkann, a scion of the Agnelli family that founded Fiat, now part of Stellantis.

The Agnellis are Stellantis' single largest investor through their family holding company Exor.

The group was created in early 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot's owner PSA, with Tavares, the former PSA head, as its first CEO.

Filosa has been leading Stellantis in North America since October.

In 2023 he was also appointed global head of Jeep, one of Stellantis leading brands, a role he quit this year when, as part of a wider management reshuffle, he was also given the additional role of Stellantis global chief for quality.

Despite his Fiat background and Italian nationality, he has hardly worked in Italy and instead has the global profile the Stellantis board had sought to address issues at the multinational carmaker.

His time as head of Stellantis' North American business can also prove an asset in dealing with Trump's administration and respond to its tariff policies.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Gilles Guillaume in ParisEditing by Keith Weir, Alvise Armellini and Barbara Lewis)