Stellantis shuffled around its European executive suite on the morning of Monday, Aug. 31, as one longstanding company leader, Olivier Francois, concludes a 21-year career leading Fiat and the company's advertising strategies.
Francois is an American Advertising Federation Hall of Famer who served as the CEO of Fiat and the chief advertising boss of Stellantis (and previously Fiat Chrysler Automobiles). He is responsible for some of Stellantis' most memorable advertisements, including the iconic 2011 Super Bowl "Imported from Detroit" Chrysler advertisement.
Francois is stepping down as the CEO of Fiat and chief advertiser, though he will remain with the company as a strategic adviser, working with Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa. He will be replaced
by Arnaud Belloni, a former Stellantis executive who is rejoining the company after working for Renault in Europe. Belloni will take over advertising duties in Europe and will serve as the CEO of Stellantis' Fiat, Abarth and Lancia brands. In a news release, Stellantis said Francois will assist Belloni in the transition into mid-October.
Francois, in a post to his personal Instagram account, reflected on his career with Stellantis and its various brands.
"I joined FIAT in August 2005, when we were fighting for survival, losing around €5 million a day, as Sergio (Marchionne, former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) often reminded us. He trusted us to turn it around," Francois wrote.
"Then came two extraordinary years leading Chrysler, with weekly flights to Detroit and very little sleep," he said. "We rebuilt the brand and helped rebuild the company."
Francois and Marchionne led Chrysler in the wake of its 2008 federal bailout.
Francois leaves his post atop Fiat a few months after Stellantis announced that Fiat would be a key player in the brand's revival strategy, in which Fiat would be one of four brands to receive the majority of funding. Named "FaSTLAne 2030," the strategic plan placed Fiat, Ram, Jeep and Peugeot at the top of Stellantis' 14-brand totem pole.
In addition to the new advertising boss and CEO of Fiat, Stellantis announced the following changes in European leadership:
- Xavier Chardon, the current CEO of Citroën, will now doubly serve as the CEO of DS Automobiles.
- Xavier Peugeot was appointed to be the head of Jeep in Europe, a new position meant to help Jeep gain market share overseas. Peugeot, a member of the founding family of the brand by the same name, has held a slew of positions at Stellantis and with its affiliated brands for over 30 years.
- Roberta Zerbi, the former CEO of Lancia, will tack on another role in customer experience.
- Gaetano Thorel will help direct the European operations of Lancia.
- Laurent Diot, who oversees Citroën's European operations, will now also oversee the European operations of DS Automobiles.
- Fabio Catone will direct the European operations of Jeep, Ram and Dodge brands.
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stellantis shuffles leadership, advertising hall of famer steps down
