Credits: Alexander Migl / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0.
Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault group since 2020, will leave his position on July 15, 2025. The announcement, made on a Sunday evening, surprised both observers and the automaker’s employees. Its suddenness recalls the hasty departure of Carlos Tavares from Renault in 2013. But this time, the context is different. It is a voluntary move into a radically different world: luxury.
According to a report by Le Figaro, the Italian executive will join Kering, a French luxury industry flagship founded by François Pinault and now led by his son François-Henri Pinault. The group owns iconic brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Saint Laurent. However, it is seeking to renew its managerial momentum. Indeed, its performance is currently faltering.
This transfer from the automotive industry to luxury fashion illustrates a broader trend. Major international companies are recruiting cross-functional profiles capable of instilling a product culture and industrial rigor in sectors undergoing change.
Five Years to Transform Renault
In July 2020, Luca de Meo took the helm of a drifting Renault group. The previous year’s losses totaled nearly €8 billion. The company emerged exhausted from the Carlos Ghosn era, marked by excess. It also experienced tensions with Nissan. Finally, a very costly expansion strategy left its marks.
Quickly, de Meo launched the Renaulution plan, a roadmap built around three axes: profitability, brand valorization, and the transition to electric. Specific subsidiaries were created to separate internal combustion activities (Horse) and electric activities (Ampère).
The results are there. In 2024, Renault announced a 7.4% increase in revenue and an operating margin of 7.6%, a historical record. The lineup was refocused on iconic, high-value models. The new Renault 5, presented as a symbol of renewal, generated real enthusiasm. The brand’s image was revitalized by a clearer positioning. Additionally, more restrained lines contributed to this transformation. Moreover, an inspired marketing policy played an essential role.
Industrial partnerships were also forged, notably with Geely, the Chinese group that now co-manages the Horse structure. The distribution network was modernized, costs were reduced without massive layoffs, and governance was stabilized around the duo de Meo – Senard.
Shadows on the Picture: The Failure of Ampère
Despite this overall positive record, several projects remain unfinished. The Ampère project, designed to embody the group’s electric future, disappoints. Its profitability remains uncertain. The cancellation of its IPO in 2024 is a warning sign. The gradual disengagement of Nissan and Mitsubishi illustrates a loss of confidence within the historic alliance.
Moreover, some promised models will never materialize. For example, the Renault 5 hybrid will not be produced. Yet this intermediate product could have appealed to a market still attached to mixed powertrains. The European electric market remains volatile, penalized by rising prices and regulatory uncertainties.
A Career Shaped by Industrial Diversity
Born in Milan in 1967, Luca de Meo embodies the figure of the cosmopolitan executive. A graduate of Bocconi University, he speaks five languages, has lived on three continents, and has held executive positions in the automotive sector for 30 years.
He began his career at Renault in the early 1990s before successively joining Toyota, Fiat, Volkswagen, and Seat. Everywhere, he left a strategic imprint. He revived Abarth, repositioned the Fiat 500, and drove the rise of Cupra, Seat’s sporty brand.
His style is recognized: close to the products, sensitive to design, rigorous in management, demanding in leadership. He combines sharp marketing vision with a technical understanding of industrial challenges.
A Personal and Assumed Decision
Luca de Meo’s departure is not the result of a conflict. On the contrary, the statements of Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of Renault’s board, are full of respect and recognition. “Luca de Meo has been able to transform Renault profoundly. He leaves a company that is restructured, organized, and ambitious.”
The timing raises questions, however. His mandate had been renewed for four years in 2024. He was to present the Futurama strategic plan in September 2025, meant to outline the group’s next ten years. His sudden resignation therefore raises questions about future governance.
Kering Seeking Reconquest
At Kering, the situation is tense. In 2024, the group recorded a 12% drop in revenue and a 62% decline in net income. The decline of Gucci, its flagship brand, weakens the whole structure. In 2025, Kering’s stock has already lost 25% of its value.
The choice to bring in an industrial profile like Luca de Meo marks a break. Kering, historically led by luxury and finance specialists, is clearly seeking a cultural shift. The goal: reconnect with product excellence, rationalize operations, and better integrate technologies.
De Meo has never run a luxury house, but his marketing instinct, his ability to reposition brands, his taste for design, and his operational leadership are assets in an industry undergoing reconfiguration.
From One Industry to Another: The New Codes of Power
The move of Luca de Meo from Boulogne-Billancourt to Kering’s plush offices in Paris embodies new mobility. Indeed, it illustrates the mobility of ruling elites. Former leaders from tech, finance, or automotive now run luxury houses. These experienced leaders have transferred their skills to this prestigious and booming sector. Moreover, they also head cultural groups or media companies.
This movement reflects a convergence of skills: in a world where brands have become global platforms, product experience, value chain management, and narrative control have become transversal.
Luca de Meo’s case also illustrates the porosity between two worlds that seemed opposed. Automotive engineering and fashion creation share the same taste for form and functionality. Moreover, they value use and image, which brings them closer. More than a career change, it is an expansion of scope.
One Page Turns, a Chapter Begins
On July 15, Luca de Meo will leave Renault, leaving a transformed company still seeking durable stability. He will join Kering with a blank slate and a horizon to reinvent. Luxury, more than ever, becomes a field of managerial and strategic innovation.
For Kering, this wager illustrates the urgency of deep repositioning. For the automotive industry, it recalls the fragility of balances.
And for the business world, it confirms a modern truth: skills move, trajectories cross, industries reinvent themselves.