Renault CEO Provost restructures top management

François Provost succeeded Luca de Meo as CEO of the Renault Group at the end of July, after de Meo left the French carmaker for the luxury group Kering. Having worked at Renault for more than 20 years, most recently as Chief Purchasing Officer, Provost has acted quickly, implementing a top-management restructuring within weeks – a notable acceleration compared with the usual 100-day waiting period for new CEOs before making strategic changes or organisational adjustments.

Provost shortens this period because he already knows the company well and wants the changes to enable faster decision-making. “To meet the challenges ahead, we need an organisation that decides faster, executes smarter and stays closer to our customers,” said Provost. “Today’s leadership changes bring together talented executives with deep industry knowledge, strong expertise and, above all, the internal credibility to make a difference.”

Fabrice Cambolive, appointed Renault brand chief by de Meo, continues to play a key role. Cambolive expands his remit, taking on the newly created position of Chief Growth Officer while remaining CEO of the Renault brand. In this role, he also oversees Dacia at group level, “to ensure a unified strategic approach and maximise sales across all markets,” Renault stated. The company aims to “fully leverage the benefits of each brand’s identity and market positioning, while still maintaining a brand-based organization at a National Sales Company (NSC) level.”

Cambolive will also lead the group’s international development, with India, Latin America and Korea identified as priority markets. In addition, he will work closely with financial services to ensure a seamless customer experience across digital, marketing, dealer network, aftersales and Renault-owned retail operations.

German Executive Appointed CEO of Dacia

Although Cambolive assumes responsibility for Dacia, the brand will continue to have a CEO. Longtime Dacia chief Denis Le Vot has decided to leave the company. Provost said: “Under Denis’ leadership, the Dacia brand has become a strong brand with an attractive line-up, embedding a larger customer base. In the name of Renault Group, I would like to express my gratitude to Denis for all his achievements throughout the years.”

He will be succeeded by German Katrin Adt. Adt previously worked for Daimler and Mercedes-Benz, including responsibility for the Smart brand, and led internal audit at Mercedes-Benz Group from 2023. At Renault, she reports to Cambolive as Dacia CEO. Cambolive stated: “Her extensive knowledge and expertise in business development will enable us to continue the brand’s momentum and, above all, to tackle the next challenge together: electrifying the product range ‘à la Dacia’,” said Fabrice Cambolive. “Now that the brand is firmly established on the European retail market podium, it is up to us to make it a new benchmark in electrified vehicles.”

Both Cambolive as Renault brand chief and Adt are expected to work closely with Philippe Brunet, appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO), succeeding Philippe Krief, who remains Alpine CEO. Brunet will oversee technology for the Renault Group and the EV division Ampere. “The unique CTO role has been created to accelerate innovation and development execution, and improve coordination with Product Planning, Quality, Procurement, Manufacturing and Supply Chain,” Renault stated. “Building on his successful tenure in the Group, where he notably reinforced electrification (E-Tech technologies), the EV value chain and shortened development timelines with the Twingo and batteries projects, Philippe Brunet will steer the next stage of Renault Group’s engineering transformation.”

Other personnel changes are less directly related to e-mobility. Anthony Plouvier, previously Vice President Procurement Strategy and Transformation, becomes Chief Procurement Officer, succeeding François Provost. Thierry Charvet, responsible for manufacturing and quality, extends his remit to the supply chain. Claire Fanget, previously head of HR at Renault, becomes Chief People & Organisation Officer, succeeding Bruno Laforge, who is leaving the company. All the managers mentioned remain or will become part of the so-called “Leadership Team,” including Christian Stein, who remains Chief Communications Officer and also joins the leadership team.

renaultgroup.com (Renault), renaultgroup.com (Dacia)

This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition.