At Renault, François Provost will replace Luca de Meo as CEO

It was expected and it is now confirmed: François Provost has become the new CEO of the Renault group, following the surprise departure of Luca de Meo to Kering.

"The Renault Group Board of Directors, meeting today under the chairmanship of Jean-Dominique Senard, has decided, on the recommendation of the Governance and Remuneration Committee, to appoint François Provost as Chief Executive Officer of Renault SA and Chairman of Renault SAS for a term of four years, as well as a director of Renault SA and Renault SAS," stated a press release published late Wednesday, July 30.

Little known to the general public, François Provost played a leading role in the Renault transformation strategy led by Luca de Meo, which he will be tasked with continuing after the sudden departure to Kering of the CEO who had become emblematic of the diamond group.

Appointed Director of International Development and Partnerships in 2020, then also Director of Public Affairs in 2021, this affable 57-year-old man led the manufacturer's transformation plan revealed during Capital MarketDay in November 2022.

This third phase of the "Renaulution" recovery plan focused on partnerships, following an "asset light" philosophy to remain in the race for electrification and software despite its limited size and resources.

Renault has also created several specialized business units, including Ampere, "the first pure electric and software player born from the disruption of a traditional car manufacturer" which the group has decided not to list on the stock market, expanded the ambitions of the premium sports brand Alpine and opened up the capital of the thermal and hybrid engine business Horse.

A graduate of the Polytechnique and Mines engineering schools, François Provost began his career at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in the Treasury Department before being appointed industrial advisor to the Ministry of Defense.

His knowledge of the public sphere will be invaluable in his relations with the French State, the main shareholder of the Renault group with 15% of the capital, and has already been so, for example, when he stood alongside Luca de Meo in the National Assembly last February in the face of a barrage of unvarnished questions from the deputies.

François Provost joined Renault's sales department in 2002, before heading Renault-Nissan in Portugal, then becoming Deputy Managing Director of Renault Russia and then CEO of Renault Samsung Motors in Korea.

In 2016, he became Renault's director of operations in China, then the following year took charge of the group's operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

This international experience is also an asset as the expansion of the Renault brand beyond the European market, on which it remains highly dependent, must accelerate in the car manufacturer's next strategic plan.