Antonio Filosa has officially taken the reins of Stellantis as the new CEO, succeeding Carlos Tavares, whose departure dates back to December 2024. With this new role, Filosa assumes global leadership of the group while maintaining direct oversight of North American brands, highlighting the centrality of the US market in the automotive giant’s future strategy.
Antonio Filosa takes helm at Stellantis, names Ralph Gilles to key leadership role
Filosa has already begun shaping the new management structure, introducing some significant changes at the top and forming a tight team of trusted managers. Among the most significant appointments is that of Ralph Gilles, a longtime group executive, who will report directly to the CEO. This relationship, along with other top managers, can be defined as somewhat privileged and decisive for many aspects within the Stellantis group.
Gilles, currently global head of design, boasts decades of experience that began in 1992 at Chrysler, the company where Filosa took his first steps in the industry. Gilles, in addition to being a talented designer, has held strategic positions as President and CEO of Dodge in 2009 and head of the SRT brand from 2011 to 2015.
Among his most iconic projects are the Chrysler 300, the SRT Viper, and revolutionary models from the 1990s like the Viper, Neon, and PT Cruiser. His role will now be even more central at a time of possible relaunch for American brands.
The change at the top seems to mark a discontinuity from the Tavares management. The immediate return of Tim Kuniskis, now in command of Ram, after leaving the company last year, is another signal of internal restructuring at Stellantis.
The big question is whether the new leadership alongside Filosa will stimulate greater investments in American brands, often overshadowed compared to European ones. While in Europe Stellantis has launched new electric models for Fiat, Peugeot, and Citroen, American brands have had to deal with dated product lines and few new arrivals.
