Luca de meo, one of the brightest former Marchionne boys, leaves the presidency of Seat (Volkswagen group) and approaches at the top of Renault following the departure of CEO Therry Bolloré, replaced on an interim basis by Clotilde Delbos.
Il consensual divorce between De Meo and Seat it was announced yesterday by the company, which however specified that the Italian manager "will remain a member of the group" until new communications, ie pending the definition of the non-competition clauses.
It is not known whether in the very short term or a little later, De Meo should in any case land at the helm of Renault in a very difficult moment in the relationship between the French company and the Japanese Nissan.
As early as mid-December, reliable rumors spoke of the will of the entire Renault board of directors to entrust De Meo, 53 years old, from Milan, from Bocconi University, with the leadership of the car manufacturer as the new managing director.
De Meo's experience in the automotive business is known: discovered by Sergio Marchionne, was one of the Italian-Canadian manager's closest collaborators in the work of saving and then relaunching Fiat at the beginning of 2000. Now he will probably be called upon to save the shaky Renault-Nissan alliance, which entered into a crisis after the sensational arrest of Carlos Ghosn. If so, De Meo will return to where he had begun his managerial experience in the car, which had begun in the mid-nineties right from Renault.
