Antonio Filosa, who the new CEO of Stellantis is and what he has done
The top manager has more than ten years' experience in the automotive industry. He will have full powers from 23 June
2' min read
2' min read
Antonio Filosa, a Neapolitan born in 1973, is the new CEO of Stellantis. Filosa's choice comes after a lengthy selection process conducted by the committee set up after the abrupt exit of group chairman Carlos Tavares and led by chairman John Elkann. Several internal and external candidates were vetted during the process, including Stellantis' head of purchasing Maxime Picat, former CEO Mike Manley and Hyundai's number one, Jose Munoz. In the end, the committee's choice fell on Filosa, who knows the Stellantis machine well.
An engineering graduate from the Milan Polytechnic, Filosa joined Fiat in 1999 and then gained a top management position at Fiat Chrysler in 2018. Over the years, he has climbed the group's hierarchies and has been part of Stellantis' senior management team since 2021. Filosa led the group's activities in South America for years, leading it to a prominent position in Brazil and Argentina. In 2023, Filosa then took the helm of Jeep, turning around the fortunes of the North American brand.
On the strength of this experience, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer for North America in October 2024 with the mission of mending relations with suppliers, unions and US dealers after years of clashes with Tavares. Even in this scenario, Filosa was able to restore calm and started to dispose of unsold cars in the US. Filosa's appointment as CEO of Stellantis will face a complex phase for the car and for Stellantis. Last year the group's revenues dropped by 17% to 156.9 billion and profits by 70% to 5.5 billion. Adding to the company's difficulties were the unknowns concerning the duties imposed by Trump on imports of cars and components into the US.
For now, Stellantis has reacted by announcing a 5 billion plan in the US, but uncertainty over the impact of duties has suspended any budget estimate for 2025. It will fall to Filosa to overcome these unknowns, while at the same time maintaining good relations with the Italian, French and US governments, which are attentive to the group's investment choices. In the meantime, the rumours concerning his appointment at the helm of the group have done well for Stellantis' share price. The shares are up more than 8% and the trend is upwards. He will have full powers as of 23 June.
