Carlos Tavares
Carlos Tavares (born 14 August 1958) is a Portuguese businessman, and the chief executive officer (CEO) of Stellantis, the world's sixth largest automaker by sales,[1] formed by the merger of the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. He was formerly the chief operating officer at Renault.[2]
Carlos Tavares | |
|---|---|
Carlos Tavares at Geneva Motor Show 2018 | |
| Born | 14 August 1958 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Education | Lycée français Charles-Lepierre École Centrale Paris |
| Occupation | CEO of Stellantis |
| Children | 3 |
Early life
Family
Carlos Tavares was born in 1958 in Lisbon, his father was an accountant working for a French insurer and his mother was a French teacher.[3] His passion for cars came at the age of 14 when he discovered motor racing, during an open day at the Estoril circuit, near Lisbon.[4]
Education
After studying at the Lycée français Charles-Lepierre in Lisbon, he left his native country for France at the age of 17 to follow a preparatory course in maths at the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat in Toulouse. He then graduated as an engineer from the École Centrale Paris in 1981.[5]
Career
Renault
Tavares started his career at Renault in 1981.[4] He was director of the Renault Mégane II project.[4]
Between 2004 and 2011, he worked for Nissan, Renault's partner in the Renault–Nissan Alliance (now Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance), first as programme director and then as vice-president, product strategy and product planning.[6][7][4] In 2005 Tavares was appointed executive vice-president, joining the board of directors.[7] By 2009, he oversaw Nissan's presence in North and South America.[4]
By 2011, he moved back to Renault to become chief operating officer, the number two executive under Carlos Ghosn, the chairman and chief executive officer of Renault and Nissan.[8] Tavares had much in common with Ghosn, as both were "raised in Portuguese-speaking environments. Both went on to graduate from French Grandes Ecoles and - perhaps less surprisingly - both like fast cars". However, Tavares resigned from Renault on August 29, 2013, two weeks after publicly saying that he wanted to become CEO at an automaker, and Tavares reportedly refusing Ghosn's demand that he apologize to staff for the gaffe. It was said that Tavares was ambitious and sought more responsibilities at Renault, however Ghosn was only four years older and had no plans to step aside soon.[9]
PSA Group
Tavares has served as the chief executive officer and Chairman of the Managing Board of Groupe PSA since 2014, replacing Philippe Varin.[8] During his tenure, he has spearheaded cost-cutting measures and increased the company's market share in China, which returned Groupe PSA back to profitability after several years of losses.[2][10] In 2014, under his leadership, DS Automobiles was established as a stand-alone brand.[11]
Tavares became CEO of Groupe PSA in 2014.[12] As CEO, he gathered praise for the PSA take over of Opel and return to profitability of Opel, and for PSA's record sales and profits. However, PSA sales in China slipped again.[13] Furthermore, he instigated the proposed merger of PSA with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.[14]
Stellantis
On January 16, 2021, Tavares became the first chief executive officer of the multinational automobile group Stellantis, resulting from the merger between the PSA group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
On January 19, 2021, during the group's first press conference, he announced that he wanted to achieve 5 billion euros in synergies, particularly in terms of investment, sharing of engines and platforms, and development.[15] He also announced that he wanted to relaunch the most fragile brands, which could benefit from new investments.[16]
In their campaigns ahead of the 2022 French presidential election, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and his challenger Marine Le Pen called Tavares' 2021 compensation package – around 19 million euros ($20.5 million), plus a stock package worth some additional 32 million euros and long-term compensation of about 25 million euros – "shocking".[17]
Other activities
Personal life
Tavares is married and father of three children.[20] He is also known to be close to the former Prime Minister of Portugal José Sócrates.[21]
Racing driver
Passionate about cars, he already volunteered at the age of 14 to be a track marshal on the Estoril circuit.[22] He has been an amateur racing driver since the age of twenty-two.[4]
In 1983, he started as a driver in rallies and endurance races with his friends Bruno Cébile, as co-driver, and Arnaud Montagné, as technical assistant. He notably participated in the Monte-Carlo Rally and he has his own team Clementeam Racing, by analogy with his daughter's first name.[2]
In 2014, together with Jean-Louis Daughter, Denis Gibaud and Jérôme Maudet, Carlos Tavares won the A2 class of the Barcelona 24 Hours with a Peugeot RCZ Cup operated by Milan Competition.[23]
He also collects classic cars and owns a Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé from 1979, an Alpine A110 from 1976 and a Porsche 912 from 1966.[2]
He is a member of the jury at the Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille 2017 and 2019, an automobile elegance competition.
Carlos Tavares at the Spa Classic in 2019
Carlos Tavares at the Chantilly Arts & Elegance in 2017
References
- ^ Malan, Andrea (January 5, 2021). "Stellantis' global ranking hit by Europe, China weakness".
- ^ a b c d Michael Stothard, Classic rally car driving with the FT: Carlos Tavares, Financial Times, March 6, 2015
- ^ "Les petits secrets de Carlos Tavares, nouveau patron de Renault". Capital.fr (in French). 2011-09-05. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ a b c d e f Mike Ramsey, Renault's Carlos Tavares: Meet the Next Auto Boss, The Wall Street Journal, December 20, 2012
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ^ "Renault names Nissan U.S. boss Carlos Tavares as new COO". Reuters. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Renault boss Carlos Tavares leaves (30 August 2013)". Autocar India. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ a b Michael Stothard, Henry Foy, Peugeot taps former Renault executive Carlos Tavares as chief, Financial Times, November 25, 2013
- ^ "Carlos vs. Carlos: Peugeot move turns double-act to rivalry". March 3, 2014 – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ "Carlos Tavares' next frontier". Automotive News. October 24, 2016.
- ^ "PSA boss Tavares wants DS to become stand-alone brand". Automotive News Europe. March 4, 2014.
- ^ Laurence Frost; Gilles Guillaume. "Peugeot signs Dongfeng deal, recovery hurdles remain". Reuters. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ "How Tavares turned around PSA and Opel". Automotive News. 2019-08-05. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
- ^ "Tavares has car manual for fixing Fiat Chrysler". Automotive News Europe. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
- ^ Caradisiac.com. "Stellantis : les premières annonces de Carlos Tavares après la fusion PSA-Fiat". Caradisiac.com (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ "Stellantis ne laissera aucune marque au garage, promet Tavares". blue News (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ Benoit Van Overstraeten and Leigh Thomas (15 April 2022), France's Macron, Le Pen call Stellantis CEO's pay package "shocking" Reuters.
- ^ Airbus Group Proposes New Board Members For Approval At AGM Airbus, press release of 17 March 2016.
- ^ Bourse, Zone. "Total: Carlos Tavares va quitter le conseil d'administration". www.zonebourse.com (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ Anne-Sophie Lechevallier, 'Carlos Tavares - L'homme providentiel de PSA', in Paris Match, 28 November 2013, p. 44
- ^ "Carlos Tavares ou l'homme qui mène PSA à la baguette". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ "Portrait - Carlos Tavares, directeur général délégué de Renault : Autophile". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ "Jean-Louis Dauger et Vaillante-Mirage au Mans : "Raconter de belles histoires" | Endurance info" (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-29.