Luca de Meo turned around the fortunes of carmaker Renault. He will now have to bring that acumen to selling handbags and high fashion.
The 58-year-old Italian has been handpicked by François-Henri Pinault to revitalise brands like Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, and restore his company Kering to its former glory.
Pinault took over as Kering’s (then called Pinault-Printemps-Redoute) Chairman and CEO in 2005 and turned the company into a focused luxury operation from a retail conglomerate. However, from its position as the most eminent fashion brand in the world, Kering has slipped behind competitors like LVMH and Hermès.
Gucci, Kering’s flagship brand, has experienced six consecutive quarters of decline.
Pinault had been advocating splitting his role for some time now, and that has finally happened. The Frenchman will continue to chairman of the board. De Meo’s appointment will have to be approved by during the Shareholder Meeting on September 9. He is expected to take office on September 15.
Share prices of Renault have dropped nearly 9 per cent from EUR42.99 (US$49.46) to EUR38.99 since the news of de Meo leaving the company broke on Monday. On the other hand, Kering stock prices have risen from EUR172.14 to EUR185, a jump of nearly 7.5 per cent.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Pinault and his family hold a 42 per cent shareholding and about 60 per cent of the company’s voting rights. The holding accounts for the bulk of the family’s fortune, estimated at just under US$20 billion.
In a statement, Pinault said: “After twenty years of transforming Kering into a major global luxury player, the group is ready for a new stage in its development.
“From 2023, I launched a reflection on the evolution of the group’s governance. It was in this context that I met Luca de Meo. His experience at the helm of an international listed group, his sharp understanding of brands, and his sense of a strong and respectful corporate culture convinced me that he is the leader I was looking for to bring a new vision and steer this chapter in our group’s history.
“It is with complete confidence that I am handing over the leadership of Kering and our teams to Luca.”
Renault’s remarkable financial recovery
The Milan-born de Meo has 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, beginning his career at Renault in 1992, followed by a stint at Toyota Europe and a long tenure at the Fiat Group. In 2009, he joined the Volkswagen Group as Group and Volkswagen Brand Marketing Director. Since July 2020, de Meo has been the CEO of the Renault Group.
In 2020, Renault was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as almost every other business was, and reported losses of EUR8,046 million (US$9,259 million). From there, de Meo managed to engineer a turnaround and in February 2025, he announced the best profits in the group’s history. The group posted a record operating profit in absolute value at €4,263 million (US$4,903.5 million), which represented 7.6 per cent of revenue.
On his move to Kering, de Meo said: “I would like to thank François-Henri Pinault and the Board of Directors for choosing me to lead Kering into this new phase of development.
“I am approaching this new professional challenge with enthusiasm, eagerness, and confidence, inspired by the strength of the group’s brands and the expertise of its people. I am convinced that together we will continue to make Kering an essential player in the luxury industry.”
