Luca_de_Meo

Luca de Meo

Luca de Meo

Italian automotive executive

Luca de Meo (born 13 June 1967) is an Italian automotive executive who is currently the CEO of Renault Group.[5]

Quick Facts Born, Nationality ...

Early life and education

Born in Milan in 1967 to parents originating from Puglia region,[6][7][8] de Meo received a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan. In his thesis he examined business ethics, which was one of the first dissertations on this subject in Italy.[9] De Meo started to develop a passion for cars at the age of seven. He was intrigued by the Italian pilot Arnaldo Cavallari, who took de Meo on a ride on his Lancia Fulvia HF.[10][6]

Career

Automotive sector

De Meo has more than thirty years of experience in the automotive sector. He began his career at Renault, from 1992 to 1998, in Italy then France,[11] prior to joining Toyota Europe.[7]

Fiat Group

In 2002, he joined the Fiat Group, where he was Head of Business Units of the brand Lancia,[12] before he was appointed by Sergio Marchionne as CEO of Fiat Automobiles and later of Alfa Romeo. He also served as Chief Marketing Officer of Fiat Group from 2007 to 2009.[6] He was also the CEO of Abarth.[13] During his time at Fiat, Luca de Meo led the Fiat 500 project and revived the Abarth brand.[14][15]

The re-launch of Fiat 500 in 2007 is usually attributed to him. Also, the success of its revival tends to be accredited to Luca de Meo. The model is considered to be the one that 'saved' Fiat.[16][17] In 2022, the model produced in 2007 recorded more than 3 million vehicles sold.[18]

Volkswagen Group

De Meo joined the Volkswagen Group in 2009,[19] as Marketing Director of the Volkswagen brand and of the Volkswagen Group, prior to taking up the position of board of management member for sales and marketing at Audi AG. He was a member of the Supervisory Boards of Ducati and Lamborghini as well as Chairman of the Board of the Volkswagen Group in Italy and Spain.[11][20]

He was President of SEAT S.A. (including SEAT & Cupra) from November 2015 to January 2020.[21] Luca de Meo spent four years developing Volkswagen's brand, to make it reach a high operating profit in 2017.[22] That year, SEAT increased its operating profit by 24.8% and delivered 468,400 cars. In 2018, that growth was sustained and further increased by 23.1%.[22][23] He also expanded the brand in Latin America.[24] In 2019, SEAT registered its 'historical' sales record, with over 574,000 sold cars.[25] 2019 was also the year when Luca de Meo introduced the new Leon.[23]

Under his presidency, the brand entered the SUV category, with the models Ateca, Arona and Tarraco.[26]

He also launched the Cupra brand, with the first model being a sports SUV: the Cupra Formentor.[27] Cupra is the brand that helped SEAT return to profitability.[28][29][30]

Renault Group

In January 2020, it was announced that he would be the CEO of Renault Group effective July 2020.[31][32]

In 2020, he entrusted the brand Dacia, whose positioning he aspired to readjust, to Denise le Vot.[33][34]

In January 2021, de Meo presented "Renaulution", the new strategic plan for Renault Group articulated in three phases: Resurrection, Renovation and Revolution.[35][36] The plan seeks to develop Renault's brands and their vehicles[37][38] and make an electric transition.[39][40] In 2022, it was announced that Renault Group started to witness a financial improvement and de Meo managed to turn around the company in 18 months.[41] Accordingly, better financial results for 2021 were released, they included a 6% increase in revenues and a net profit approaching one billion (€967 million).[42]

In November 2022, on the occasion of Renault Group's "Capital Market Day",[43] he announced a reorganization of the Group into five divisions, including Ampere a subsidiairy dedicated to electric cars.[44][45][46]

In January 2022, he officially announced the construction of the future electric SUV at the Alpine factory in Dieppe.[47][48] Luca de Meo intends to occupy the high-segment with this brand,[49] relaunched as part of the second version of the Renaulution plan.[50]

In January 2023, Luca de Meo completed the first phase of his "Renaulution" program in less than two years.[51] In 2023, de Meo's strategy was bringing about results as Renault's operating margin increased to 5.6% for the past year, compared to only 2.8% in 2021.[52] When he first joined Renault Group, the company was losing €8 billion.[53][54] Two and a half years after, Luca de Meo managed to make the Group witness a financial recovery.[53]

Luca de Meo aims at making Renault become a 100% electric brand by 2030 in Europe.[55][56] Overall, Renault Group, led by de Meo, seeks to become carbon-neutral in Europe by 2040 and worldwide by 2050.[57]

In February 2023, he introduced a plan for the production of Renault electric vehicles in France.[58]

In 2023, he unveils the new Formula 1 single-seater Alpine in London.[59] The same year, it is announced that Alpine is currently in talks with AutoNation, a US distributor.[60]

In the sports segment, Alpine grew by 33% in 2022.[61][62]

Academic sector

De Meo is a multilingual[7] who speaks Italian, English, French,[32] German[63] and Spanish. He is a teaching fellow at SDA Bocconi School of Management,[64] of which he is also Alumnus of the Year in 2017[65]

Other activities

De Meo was a member of the Supervisory Board of Ducati and Lamborghini from 2015 to 2020.[66]

Luca de Meo was an Independent Member of the Board of Directors of Gruppo TIM until 2022.[67]

In December 2022, Luca de Meo was elected to chair the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) in 2023,[20] succeeding the President of BMW Group, Oliver Zipse.[68] As the President of ACEA, Luca de Meo asserted the need for measures that would support the association's aim of 'decarbonization' to be able to defy the 'growing global competition'.[69] He also addressed the industry's devotion to supporting 'e-mobility' and guaranteeing 'value creation and jobs', particularly in Europe.[69]

As the President of ACEA, Luca de Meo emphasized the 'deindustrialization' and 'relocation' of the automotive industry.[70] In January 2023, in an open letter, he expressed the automotive industry's urgent need for an 'ambitious' and 'structured' automotive industrial policy by the EU to compete with other regions in the world.[71] De Meo also highlights the importance of developing European electric vehicles. Accordingly, he called for the necessity of regional European support in terms of measures to maintain the competitive nature of the European automotive industry.[71]

Awards and reception

In July 2015,[72][73] de Meo was named "commendatore" by the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and Harvard University dedicated a case study to him in 2013, for his work in the Volkswagen Group as Marketing Director.[74]

In 2017, he was named Bocconi Alumnus of the Year, for representing the university values of professionalism, initiative, integrity, responsibility and openness to pluralism.[9] His competences in leadership are said to be in marketing, product planning, having attention to detail and avoiding conflict, while he lacks an engineering background.[75][63] His personality has been described as collegial, humorous and culturally adaptive.[63]

In November 2019, he was provided the "Entrepreneur of the Year Medal of Honour" by the Catalan Employers.[76]

In March 2021, King Felipe VI of Spain awarded him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.[77]

In 2022, he was appointed as 'Cavaliere del Lavoro' by a presidential decree in Italy.[78]

In December 2022, Luca de Meo received the Chevalier (Knight) rank of the French Legion of honor.[79]

Publications

  • Da 0 a 500. Storie vissute, idee e consigli da uno dei manager più dinamici della nuova generazione[80] (De Meo, Luca. "From 0 to 500: lived stories, ideas and advice from one of the most dynamic managers of the new generation" Marsilio, 2010.)

Personal life

De Meo is married to Silvia Goracci and has two sons.[8][81][82]

See also

  • L'Argus (automobiles French magazine)

References

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