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Stellantis CEO Made More Than $100 Million. He’s Leaving as the Stock Slumps.
Story by Al Root• 2 min read
Stellantis, the parent company of automobile brands Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler, is taking drastic steps to reverse a 45% slide in its share price since the start of the year.
On Thursday, the company said Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight will leave the firm and be succeeded by Doug Ostermann. It also named new chief operating officers for North America, Europe, and China.
What’s more, the company made it clear that CEO Carlos Tavares will retire when his current management contract expires in early 2026, saying a formal effort to find a successor has begun. A special board committee to handle the task is expected to complete its work “by the fourth quarter of 2025.” Stellantis said.
The current management contract has awarded him tens of millions of dollars in compensation, including some $40 million in 2023. That was a good year for the company.
Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest car maker behind Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai, had a record 2023, earning some $25.5 billion in operating profit, but has slashed its financial guidance in 2024.
Wall Street sees $12 billion in 0pearing profit this year. At the start of the year, the estimate was about $24 billion, according to FactSet.
The biggest problems have been in North America, where sales have slumped and dealers’ inventories are too high. Dodge dealers had about 150 days of inventory on lots at the end of August. The industry tries to operate with about 60 days of inventory.
The management changes are the latest effort by Tavares to turn things around. Earlier this year, he acknowledged problems with the company’s marketing. At the end of September, the company said profit margins would fall and free cash flow would be negative this year.
“During this Darwinian period for the automotive industry, our duty and ethical responsibility is to adapt and prepare ourselves for the future,” Tavares said in a statement. “The newly appointed leadership team members will make their valuable contributions to our overall team’s determination to tackle the challenges ahead.”
Tavares has made about 104 million euros, or $114 million, over the past five years, company filing show. Stellantis stock is roughly flat over that span.
The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about management compensation.
Stellantis stock hit almost $30 a share in March. Shares of the company, based in the Netherlands, are down about 55% since then.
Stellantis shares slipped 2.7% to $12.95 in U.S. trading. Ford and General Motors shares each added 0.6%. The S&P 500 was also up 0.6%.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...&cvid=b501146b81ae45d6a23726db0866ceb0&ei=130
