It’s official

After a six-month-long search that began shortly after the departure of embattled former CEO Carlos Tavares, multinational auto conglomerate Stellantis has finally found a new Chief Executive to lead the whole operation.

In a statement released early on May 28, Stellantis revealed that Antonio Filosa was unanimously selected to be at the helm. They noted that they selected him based on a “proven track record of hands-on success during his more than 25 years in the automotive industry, the depth and span of his experience around the world, his unrivalled knowledge of the Company and his recognized leadership qualities.”

In remarks, Stellantis Executive Chairman John Elkann stated that the 51-year-old’s “deep understanding of the company” and its employees was crucial as Stellantis navigates a new chapter.

“I have worked closely with Antonio over the past six months, during which time his responsibilities have increased, and his strong and effective leadership spanning both North and South America at a moment of unprecedented challenge has confirmed the excellent qualities he brings to the role,” he said. “Together with the entire Board, I look forward to working with him.”

Once he formally takes the helm on June 23, Filosa will have a tall task of running an automaker responsible for a portfolio of 14 distinct, separate brands with origins in both Europe and the United States, as well as navigating a challenging trade environment dictated by the Trump Administration’s steep tariffs in imported autos.

However, there are five important things to know about Antonio Filosa, his background, and what he stands for before he took the helm of one of the world’s largest automakers.

One: Filosa has deep roots within Stellantis and its car brands.

Born in 1973 in Naples, Italy, Filosa has worn many hats within Stellantis and its many brands since joining the Fiat Group as a trainee after graduating from the Politecnico di Milano in 1999.

After brief stints at some of Fiat’s subsidiaries, Iveco and CNH, he returned to Fiat in 2002, where for nearly two decades, he held a series of leadership roles spanning industrial operations, manufacturing, and strategic development across North and South America.

Filosa’s first stint at a C-suite level position came in 2018, when he was appointed as the South American Chief Operating Officer for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which he retained following the 2021 merger with Peugeot that created Stellantis. Since then, his role in growing Jeep’s market share in Brazil earned him the role as CEO of Jeep, which he held from November 2023 to February 2025, only to be promoted to Chief Quality Officer and Chief Operating Officer for the Americas in December 2024.

Two: Filosa is known to be a “hands-on” leader

Stellantis credits Filosa’s “proven track record of hands-on success” as a core tenet of his 25-year experience within Stellantis and Fiat Chrysler, defining their decision to promote him to lead the automaker. However, this sort of leadership quality has roots before Stellantis was even established.

The largest part of Filosa’s 26-year career was spent in Brazil, where he was tasked with increasing responsibilities that would ultimately build the company’s footprint in the country and the South American continent. Nearly a decade ago, Filosa held the plant manager position in Betim, one of the firm’s largest plants. By this time, he had worked in different people-facing roles within Fiat in the country, as expressed in a 2014 Fiat Chrysler recruiting video.

“I always looked for the opportunity to work across to learn about the strategic processes. I believe this is the source of a great professional development. The great development that I had in 10 years working with Fiat. I am sure that I would not have had this opportunity in other companies,” Filosa said. “What makes the difference here at Fiat is the motivation qnd energy of the people.”

Three: Filosa was instrumental in bringing back key leaders

In October 2024, Filosa dropped his role as the Jeep brand CEO to become the North American Chief Operating Officer. Following the resignation of former CEO Carlos Tavares in December 2024, Filosa was called up to lead the entire Americas region as COO and join the interim executive committee led by Stellantis Chairman John Elkann.

In his enhanced role as Americas COO, Filosa filled key roles in its most important regions with experienced veterans who understand the customers in key markets like North America. These included Tim Kuniskis’s return from retirement as CEO of Ram Trucks and Jeff Kommor’s return from his former Tavares-appointed commercial sales role to his former role as the U.S. head of sales; moves that Stellantis said would help it “operate in a structure that will drive the best outcomes for the region, unlock significant potential, and win in the market.”

“One of my first decisions has been to bring back talents that we lost in the past,” Filosa told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show in January. “That’s why I was very happy when Kuniskis accepted the challenge to come back. I was very happy when Jeff Kommor accepted the challenge.”

Four: Filosa recognizes the importance of the American auto market

A massive dip in vehicle sales, the fledgling EV market, and the threat presented by the Trump administration’s auto tariffs are just some of the pressing issues loaded onto Antonio Filosa’s plate before taking the helm as Stellantis’s leader, but he recognizes that U.S. sales are a top priority.

In remarks to CNBC on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show in January, Filosa says that the re-appointment of Kuniskis and Kommor, along with reestablishing relationships with its dealers and adjusting its strategy on incentives and new products, is one part of growing its brands’ sales and market share in the U.S., adding that “U.S. retail market share is our main priority.”

“The whole point is to sell more, right? It’s a very complex business but it ends with just one thing, a customer that is happy to buy our cars. We need to find more of those,” he told the Detroit Free Press at the show.

Five: Filosa believes that flexibility between EVs and gas-engine cars are key to success.

In an April 2024 Automotive News interview during his tenure as Jeep CEO, he noted that a core tenet of the brand’s strategy was offering a variety of different powertrain choices, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and gas-engine options; taking lessons from failed strategy plans in Europe as an example.

“[…] where we see opportunities [to add internal-combustion engine variants], pragmatically we should exploit them,” FIlosa said. “The European market as a whole was not ready for an electric-only Avenger, thus we should have launched a gasoline version sooner in Italy, Spain and Poland. Lesson learned.”

Despite saying in that same interview that the brands need to sell ICE cars before “somebody else will,” he is optimistic of some bridge technologies that critics have dismissed as being flawed; particularly plug-in hybrids. When asked about EU data’s findings about plug-in hybrids emitting more CO2 than advertised, he defended his optimism for it.

“On my side, in the U.S. I drive a Grand Cherokee 4xe. I charge it at night with a home socket and I make my 22-mile (36 km) daily commute all electric. This is simply fantastic.”

Final thoughts

Filosa and Stellantis still have a long way to go before the new CEO officially takes the helm, but given the return of Kuniskis and Kommor, he is already making those CEO-level moves. As I have also expressed with Nissan’s Ivan Espinosa, it is still too early to tell what and which direction Antonio Filosa will go. We hope it is up, but only time will tell if he will get there. Let him cook.

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