Luca de Meo (born 13 June 1967) is an Italian automotive executive who is currently the CEO of

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

Early life and education

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

in 1967 to parents originating from Locorotondo, de Meo received a degree in Business Administration from

Bocconi University Bocconi University ( it, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, ) is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and comput ...

in Milan. In his thesis he examined business ethics, which was the first dissertation on this subject in Italy.

Career

De Meo has more than twenty-five years of experience in the automotive sector. He began his career at Renault, prior to joining Toyota Europe, followed by the

Fiat Group Stellantis Italy, formerly known as Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. from 2007 to 2014 and FCA Italy S.p.A. from 2014 to 2021, is the Italian subsidiary of the multinational automaker Stellantis, dedicated to the production and selling of passenge ...

, where he was head of the

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

and

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...

brands and CEO of

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a styliz ...

. During his time as Fiat, he was considered a protégé of

Sergio Marchionne Sergio Marchionne (; 17 June 1952 – 25 July 2018) was an Italian-Canadian businessman, widely known for his turnarounds of the automakers Fiat and Chrysler, his business acumen and his outspoken and often frank approach, especially when dealing ...

, carrying a significant responsibility over the launch of the new Fiat 500, however, Marchionne was disappointed at his results while he was leading Alfa Romeo. De Meo joined the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercia ...

in 2009, as marketing director of the brand of Volkswagen 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 president of

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

from November 2015 to January 2020. In January 2020 it was announced that he would be the CEO of Renault effective July 2020, leaving Renault without a CEO for another five months due to a

non-compete clause In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition again ...

with Volkswagen Group. De Meo speaks Italian, English, French, German and Spanish. He was a teaching fellow at SDA Bocconi School of Management, and is the author of the book ''Da 0 a 500, Storie vissute, idee e consigli da uno dei manager più dinamici della nuova generazione'' (''From 0 to 500. Lived stories, ideas and advices from one fthe most dynamic managers of the last generation''). In January 2021, de Meo presented "Renaulution", the new strategic plan for Groupe Renault, which aims to shift the strategy from volume to value.

Other activities

Gruppo TIM Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixed ...

, Independent Member of the Board of Directors

Awards and reception

In 2017, he was named Bocconi Alumnus of the Year, for representing the university values of professionalism, initiative, integrity, responsibility and openness to pluralism. 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. His personality has been described as collegial, humorous and culturally adaptive. De Meo was named "commendatore" by the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

dedicated a case study to him in 2013, for his work in the Volkswagen Group as marketing director. In March 2021,

King Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...

awarded him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Personal life

De Meo is married to Silvia Goracci and has two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meo, Luca De Living people Alfa Romeo people 1967 births Businesspeople from Milan Audi people Italian chief executives Renault people Fiat people Automotive businesspeople