Luca de Meo: Succeeding Pinault as the New CEO of Kering

Luca de Meo built a decades-long career in the global automotive industry before being appointed CEO of Kering. With over 30 years of experience, he has held senior leadership roles at Renault, Fiat, Volkswagen Group, and SEAT, earning a reputation for strategic turnarounds. As he leaps from cars to couture, he becomes the first executive outside of the Pinault family to steer one of the world's most influential luxury groups. This is his story.

• Automotive veteran: With over three decades in the industry, de Meo has held senior roles at some of the world's largest car brands, building a reputation across the global automotive landscape.

• Turnaround at Renault: In 2020, de Meo took the reins of a struggling Renault and led a sharp turnaround, driven by a clear strategic overhaul and disciplined execution.

• A new era at Kering: By becoming CEO of Kering in 2025, de Meo is the first person outside the Pinault family to lead the luxury group since its founding in 1962.

Luca de Meo was born in 1967 and raised in Milan, Italy. From an early age, he developed a passion for cars, which would eventually go on to define most of his professional life. After earning an MBA from Bocconi University, Milan, he began his career at Renault Group in 1992. De Meo worked for the French automaker from both its Italian and French headquarters for six years before he was ready for new challenges within the industry.

He spent the next four years at Toyota, working for its European division, before joining Fiat Group (now part of Stellantis). Over seven years at Fiat, he held several key positions, including CEO of Fiat Automobiles, CEO of Alfa Romeo, and Chief Marketing Officer of Fiat Group.

His work as CMO led to his next chapter at another one of the world's largest automotive companies: Volkswagen Group. He joined the German automaker as marketing director and, over a decade, took on a range of roles across the organization. One of the most notable was his tenure as president of SEAT from 2015 to 2020, during which he helped elevate both the SEAT and Cupra brands. The success of this period solidified his reputation as a skilled leader in the industry and paved the way for his next opportunity.

In early 2020, Luca de Meo was named CEO of Renault Group, returning to the company where he had launched his career nearly three decades earlier. As he reinstalled himself at the French automaker, he found a company that had endured a string of difficult years throughout the late 2010s. Challenges only deepened by the onset of a pandemic that was beginning to disrupt the global economy at its core. Still, de Meo, no stranger to adversity, was prepared to lead a turnaround.

One of his first major moves was launching “Renaulution,” a strategic transformation plan designed to reset and revitalize the group. Structured in three phases – Resurrection, Renovation, and Revolution – the plan aimed to cut costs, re-focus operations, and transition Renault’s brands toward an electric future, primarily through hybrid models in the near term.

To support this, de Meo implemented sweeping cost-cutting measures, streamlining operations by reducing headcount and production capacity. Within a few years, the results are clearly in his support. After posting losses in 2020, Renault grew its operating margin from 3.6% in 2021 to 7.6% by 2024 (sourced through Quartr Pro).

His time at the company coincided with one of the most difficult stretches the auto industry has faced in decades, marked by the pandemic, trade tariffs, and fierce global competition. Yet under his leadership, Renault's stock rose by roughly 90%, outperforming many competitors who struggled to post gains during the same period.

De Meo's time at Renault built on his reputation as a turnaround specialist. Though his experience has so far been limited to the automotive sector, his approaches have drawn attention far beyond the industry that he's been involved in for over 30 years. On June 15, 2025, he announced his resignation as CEO of Renault Group.

The very next day, on June 16, it was announced that de Meo would become CEO of Kering. This makes him only the third person to hold the position since the company's founding over half a century ago. More notably, he will be the first leader from outside the Pinault family, following its founder, François Pinault, and, more recently, his son François-Henri Pinault.

Luca de Meo is set to assume his new role at Kering on September 15, 2025.

As de Meo steps into his new role, he takes the helm of a company with deep roots in the world of luxury, home to a portfolio of storied brands that have defined style and desirability for not just decades, but centuries.

Kering traces its roots back to 1962, when it was founded as Établissements Pinault, a timber trading and production business. Under the leadership of François Pinault, it expanded steadily through acquisitions, initially within its core industry before branching out more broadly by the late 1980s and 1990s.

However, its most transformative pivot came in 1999, when the group acquired Gucci after a dramatic takeover battle with Bernard Arnault and his LVMH. Securing one of the most prestigious names in fashion marked a turning point, cementing luxury as the group’s central focus. Two and a half decades later, Kering's portfolio includes iconic brands such as Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen.

As de Meo steps into the CEO role at Kering, his first and most urgent challenge will be reviving the struggling Gucci brand, which accounts for roughly 50% of the group's total revenue. Though long considered the crown jewel of Kering's portfolio, Gucci has faced mounting headwinds in recent years, with revenue falling more than 20% year-over-year in fiscal 2024.

In March 2025, Kering appointed Demna Gvasalia, previously the creative director at Balenciaga since 2015, as Gucci's new creative lead. That move followed the appointment of Stefano Cantino as Gucci's CEO in October 2024. With a new leadership team in place and Luca de Meo now at the helm of the group, the pieces may be aligned to turn the trend for Gucci and Kering.

Luca de Meo's move from engines to ateliers marks more than just a career change. It signals that Kering is willing to think differently about what kind of leadership the future demands for the group. Whether his track record of restructuring and revitalization can translate into the brand-driven dynamics of luxury fashion remains to be seen.