A long silence. Since his resignation “with immediate effect” from Stellantis announced on December 1, Carlos Tavares has yet to speak publicly.
The former CEO of the automobile giant returned to this hasty exit in an interview with the Portuguese weekly Expresso.
“Friendly” departure
Carlos Tavares stated in particular that his “friendly” departure was due to disagreements with the board of directors over the strategy to be implemented.
The manager, who came to the head of PSA in 2014 before the birth of Stellantis in early 2021, did not go into details about his differences with the board of directors of the Franco-Italian car manufacturer. He simply explains that the decision to leave was made jointly by him and President John Elkann.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that his sudden dismissal was prompted by the goals set by Carlos Tavares. Objectives considered unrealistic or destructive by certain members of the board of directors.
“Protect the business”
In an interview with Expresso, Carlos Tavares highlights that the main concern was “to protect the company so that a difference in points of view does not generate the risk of misalignment of the company.”
“A company that employs 250,000 people, has a turnover of 190 billion euros and sells 15 brands around the world cannot be managed with a lack of alignment, which has an immediate impact on strategic management,” he added.
When asked if he was hurt by the outcome, he replied: “No, not at all.” He added that he would do the same if he could return in due time.
The strategy of Carlos Tavares, previously considered one of the auto industry’s most respected executives, has come under scrutiny after falling sales in North America led the automaker, in September, to issue a warning about its results for 2024.
Distributors, industry experts and customers say Stellantis has been priced out of the market in the United States and Europe under the leadership of Carlos Tavares, the Reuters report notes.
“When you face a storm, you have to steer the ship based on the waves. You cannot discuss what is the best way to face them,” said Carlos Tavares in this interview, recalling that the automobile industry is currently going through a period ” Darwinian.” , an expression he had used many times when he ran Stellantis.
A role to play in the privatization of Air Portugal?
Carlos Tavares also looked toward his future. He plans to participate in the privatization of the airline TAP Air Portugal, either as an investor or as a non-executive director, AFP summarizes.
He claims to have been contacted by “a large number of friends”: “they came to ask me if I wanted to participate in this project” of privatization.
Although he specifies that “no decision has been made”, Carlos Tavares maintains that the Portuguese State could sell part of TAP’s capital to one of its European competitors while protecting the economic interests of the country, which is highly dependent on tourism.
“There may be synergies, but control of the company would remain in Portugal,” adding “the Portuguese State, the Portuguese managers and the Portuguese investors,” he stated.
The former Stellantis CEO was vague about his possible role: “it could be at the board level, it could be at the investor level, but probably not executive.”
TAP Air Portugal, urgently renationalized to benefit from an injection of 3.2 billion euros of public funds, must once again privatize at least 51% of its capital.
This sale, which should conclude in 2025, is arousing the interest of European companies Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and the IAG group (British Airways and Iberia).
The Portuguese Government, with which Carlos Tavares claims to have not contacted, had recently expressed the interest of a total of a dozen entities, including non-European companies and investment funds.
Source: BFM TV
