Luca Maestri — image credit: Apple
Netherlands car firm Stellantis may be best known for buying Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler, but it says it is definitely not buying ex-Apple CFO Luca Maestri.
Stellantis cars waited until its shares rose before denying reports that it has hired ex-Apple CFO Luca Maestri as its new CEO. And that rise in shares is among the best news it’s had in a while, as its car sales reportedly fell 14% in 2024 — and its profits nearly halved.
In comparison, Maestri went out on a high as Apple’s Chief Financial Officer in October 2024. He has been replaced there by Kevan Parekh, though reportedly Maestri has just moved down the hall at Apple Park and isn’t going anywhere.
According to CNBC however, a spokesperson for the Netherlands car company Stellantis has denied that Maestri is taking over. “It is not true,” said the spokesperson.
Okay. The spokesperson’s report was backed up by an unspecified source who said hiring Maestri was “fake news.”
Apparently the original claim came from local newspaper Corriere della Sera. It didn’t exactly come from nowhere, but doesn’t appear to have come from somewhere.
Instead, it follows the news that Stellantis last CEO, Carlos Tavares, resigned from the company after “different views” between him and the board. Those views probably concerned the steep drop in profits that CNBC says Stellantis suffered after its initially highly successful 2023 sales.
Reportedly, 2024 saw its huge downturn because Stellantis was not updating its cars or refreshing its lineups as much as competitors were. Rising costs also deterred customers, and quality control suffered too.
So it was perhaps not a surprise that the board and Tavares had a difference of opinion over whether he kept his job. Following his announced resignation, the local newspaper then reported that chairman John Elkann was planning to appoint Maestri, on the grounds of little more than “why not?”
Although Maestri was previously rumored, possibly with no greater reason, when Elkann was recruiting for a CEO for Ferrari around 2021. Ferrari went with a chipmaking veteran, so it isn’t unknown for someone with a technology background to take over a car company.
And having Maestri rumored to take over did make shares in Stellantis rise in initial trading. So maybe Stellantis is now a more attractive option for Maestri.
Although according to Mopar Insiders, whatever that is, ex-CEO Tavares made around $26 million in 2023, including bonuses. Maestri, according to CFO, made $26.9 million.
Perhaps the Netherlands car company has a great relocation package.
