Luca de Meo (born 13 June 1967) is an Italian automotive executive who is currently the CEO of Renault Group.

Early life and education
Born in Milan in 1967 to parents originating from Puglia region, de Meo received a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan. In his thesis he examined business ethics, which was one of the first dissertations on this subject in Italy. De Meo started to develop a passion for cars at the age of seven. He was intrigued by the Italian pilot Arnaldo Cavallari, who took de Meo on a ride on his Lancia Fulvia HF.

Career

Automotive sector 
De Meo has more than twenty-five years of experience in the automotive sector. He began his career at Renault, from 1992 to 1998, in Italy then France, prior to joining Toyota Europe.

Fiat Group 
In 2002, he joined the Fiat Group, where he was Head of Business Units of the brand Lancia, before he was appointed by Sergio Marchionne as CEO of Fiat Automobiles and later of Alfa Romeo. He also served as Chief Marketing Officer of Fiat Group from 2007 to 2009.  He was also the CEO of Abarth. During his time at Fiat, Luca de Meo led the Fiat 500 project and revived the Abarth brand.

The re-launch of Fiat 500 in 2007 is usually attributed to him. Also, the success of its revival tends to be accredited to Luca de Meo. The model is considered to be the one that 'saved' Fiat. In 2022, the model produced in 2007 recorded more than 3 million vehicles sold.

Volkswagen Group 
De Meo joined the Volkswagen Group in 2009, as Marketing Director of the Volkswagen brand and of the Volkswagen Group, prior to taking up the position of board of management member for sales and marketing at Audi AG. He was a member of the Supervisory Boards of Ducati and Lamborghini as well as Chairman of the Board of the Volkswagen Group in Italy and Spain. 

He was President of SEAT S.A. (including SEAT & CUPRA) from November 2015 to January 2020.

Under his presidency, the brand entered the SUV category, with the models Ateca, Arona and Tarraco.

He also launched the CUPRA brand, with the first model being a sports SUV: the Cupra Foremntor. Cupra is the brand that helped SEAT return to profitability.

Renault Group 
In January 2020, it was announced that he would be the CEO of Renault Group effective July 2020. 

In 2020, he entrusted the brand Dacia, whose positioning he aspired to readjust, to Denise le Vot.

In January 2021, de Meo presented "Renaulution", the new strategic plan for Renault Group articulated in three phases: Resurrection, Renovation and Revolution.  The plan seeks to develop Renault's brands and their vehicles and make an electric transition.  In 2022, it was announced that Renault Group started to witness a financial improvement and de Meo managed to turn around the company in 18 months. Accordingly, better financial results for 2021 were released, they included a 6% increase in revenues and a net profit approaching one billion (€967 million).

In February 2023, he introduced a plan for the production of Renault electric vehicles in France.

Academic sector 
De Meo is a multilingual who speaks Italian, English, French, German and Spanish. He is a teaching fellow at SDA Bocconi School of Management, of which he is also Alumnus of the Year in 2017

Other activities
De Meo was a member of the Supervisory Board of Ducati and Lamborghini from 2015 to 2020.

Luca de Meo was an Independent Member of the Board of Directors of Gruppo TIM until 2022.

In December 2022, Luca de Meo was elected to chair the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) in 2023, succeeding the President of BMW Group, Oliver Zipse. As the President of ACEA, Luca de Meo asserted the need for measures that would support the association's aim of 'decarbonization' to be able to defy the 'growing global competition'. He also addressed the industry's devotion to supporting 'e-mobility' and guaranteeing 'value creation and jobs', particularly in Europe.

Awards and reception
In July 2015, de Meo was named "commendatore" by the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and Harvard University dedicated a case study to him in 2013, for his work in the Volkswagen Group as Marketing Director.

In 2017, he was named Bocconi Alumnus of the Year, for representing the university values of professionalism, initiative, integrity, responsibility and openness to pluralism. His competences in leadership are said to be in marketing, product planning, having attention to detail and avoiding conflict, while he lacks an engineering background. His personality has been described as collegial, humorous and culturally adaptive.

In November 2019, he was provided the "Entrepreneur of the Year Medal of Honour" by the Catalan Employers.

In March 2021, King Felipe VI of Spain awarded him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

In 2022, he was appointed as 'Cavaliere del Lavoro' by a presidential decree in Italy.

In December 2022, Luca de Meo received the Chevalier (Knight) rank of the French Legion of honor.

Publications 

 Da 0 a 500. Storie vissute, idee e consigli da uno dei manager più dinamici della nuova generazione (De Meo, Luca. "From 0 to 500: lived stories, ideas and advice from one of the most dynamic managers of the new generation" Marsilio, 2010.)

Personal life
De Meo is married to Silvia Goracci and has two sons.

References

External links

Living people
Alfa Romeo people
1967 births
Businesspeople from Milan
Audi people
Italian chief executives
Renault people
Fiat people
Automotive businesspeople