De Meo, 58, had been leading the French Renault Group since 2020. He left the carmaker on July 15 and will become Kering’s CEO on Sept. 15.

Francois Henri Pinault, the Kering heir, has decided to give him the CEO role while remaining as chairman of the board. Pinault decided that he needed a turnaround expert to reverse Gucci and Saint Laurent’s fortunes. Gucci’s sales fell 21% in 2024, and the 2025 trend is following the same path. De Meo, who’s known for his ability to revive auto brands, will now have to apply his secret sauce to ready-to-wear companies.

Over his more than 30-year career in the car industry, he had leadership roles at Renault, Toyota, Fiat, and Volkswagen. De Meo is credited with saving Fiat by relaunching the Fiat 500 in 2007. He is also responsible for Renault’s turnaround.

De Meo, a multi-lingual executive—he speaks Italian, French, English, German, and Spanish—seduced Pinault with his ability to manage an international group during difficult times. Seen as an outsider by Wall Street analysts, he will be able to tackle Kering’s fragility. The group has lost €2.5 billion (about $2.9 billion) in revenue in the past 12 months, and its operating margin was reduced from 24.3% in 2023 to 14.9% by the end of 2024.

Chinese customers are buying less and Trump’s tariffs could jeopardize the American appetite for Kering’s portfolio—Gucci, St. Laurent, Balenciaga, and Bottega Veneta. De Meo’s roadmap to success includes the closing of inefficient stores and the reduction of a €10.5 billion debt.

When De Meo left Renault, the CEO said that he wanted “new adventures.” His paycheck may also have been a factor, since the French state is part owner of Renault and is known to offer smaller compensation packages compared to the private sector.

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