The resignation of previous CEO Carlos Tavares kickstarted a wave of changes in Stellantis’ boardroom. The appointment of a new CEO could point to a return to stability, as Antonio Filosa brings decades of experience from across several Stellantis brands to the role.
Stellantis has announced that Antonio Filosa has been chosen as its new CEO following a six-month search led by its board.
The news follows what has been a tumultuous year for the Hoofddorp-headquartered automaker. Reported earnings for the first half of 2024 were down 14% compared to 2023 figures, with profit for the same timeframe dropping by almost half, and this downturn continued into Q3. An additional shock to Stellantis happened when previous CEO Carlos Tavares suddenly resigned in December, ahead of his planned retirement in 2026. Henri de Castries, Stellantis’ senior independent director, explained that this was caused by “different views” emerging that broke the “perfect alignment between the reference shareholders, the Board and the CEO” that he said has been integral to Stellantis’ success since its creation. While arguably the most disruptive, this was just the latest in a series of shake-ups that happened at the automaker last year.
Another major transition that happened in the latter half of 2024 was the entire supply chain organisation moving over from its purchasing division to its manufacturing division. The restructuring was planned to “drive simplification” and “enhance organisational performance”, according to official statements. As part of this restructuring, several executives took on new roles: Jean-Phiippe Imparato became COO of Enlarged Europe while remaining CEO of Pro One; Doug Ostermann became overall CFO; Gregoire Olivier became COO of Stellantis China; and Santo Ficili became CEO of both Maserati and Alfa Romeo. This restructuring was shortly followed by more changes, with Xavier Duchemin leaving his position as VP of global supply chain after only a month. His predecessor, Yves Caracatzanis, was also only in the role for three years.
Filosa himself was one of the executives involved in this restructuring. He became COO, Americas, while maintaining his leadership of the Jeep brand. Alongside being Jeep CEO, he also was COO of South America. During this tenure, he was instrumental in developing FIAT’s footprint as a market leader in the region, as well as boosting the market shares of Peugeot, Citroën, Ram, and Jeep. He also played a key role in opening and running Jeep’s Pernambuco plant in Brazil, which the company reports as being critical to the Brazilian market becoming Jeep’s second largest after the US.
With this track-record and recent successes in running operations across the Americas, Stellantis’ executives believe Filosa will be able to bring stability and success to the OEM. Robert Peugeot, Stellantis vice chairman, commented on the appointment: “His track record of successful leadership during his many years with our company speaks for itself and this, together with his deep knowledge of our business and of the complex dynamics facing our industry, make him the natural choice to become Stellantis’ next CEO.”
Executive chairman John Elkann, who led the Board’s hunt for a new CEO, added that Filosa’s “strong and effective leadership… at a moment of unprecedented challenge have confirmed the excellent qualities he brings to the role”.
While a vote of confidence in Filosa, it does underscore the challenges he faces in his new role. The last few months saw an unprecedented amount of disruption to the global automotive industry stemming from raised US tariffs resulting in a US-China trade war. OEMs around the globe were impacted by these changes, with both inbound and outbound flows stagnating, but Stellantis was especially hit hard. Its reliance on North American cargo flows caused such bad disruption that it closed plants in both Canada and Mexico and laid off 900 staff in US plants. Recent analysis also suggests that North American and European automakers are at risk of losing market shares to Chinese automakers as a result of increased localisation and protectionism, which further exacerbates the projected drop in revenue expected by many automakers caused by the tariff disruption. Even before the trade war, the industry was in flux. Changes in EV demand and regulation in several regions have prompted OEMs to rethink their approaches, with Stellantis even going so far as to strategically review its Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port, UK, following changes to governmental Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) mandates.
Despite the challenges that he has to overcome, there is hope that a new CEO will bring stability to the boardroom and will drive Stellantis to increased success. The outlook is positive for the company’s logistics though, as Filosa has proven capable at strengthening operations and processes across different fields. During his time at Jeep, Stellantis said he “significantly reduced” excessive dealer inventory and increased communications with regional and international stakeholders, helping to strengthen its resiliency in the South American region. Similarly, the global supply chain function moving departments is also promising at it underscores an increased interest in internal synergies and dialogues. Involving logistics teams in manufacturing and assembly discussions can be a key driver for more effective and efficient flows, making the change a promising one.
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