PSA Thins Upper Ranks in Attempt to Dig Out of Red Ink
The supervisory board, which controls strategic decisions and the hiring of top guns, makes a string of decisions calculated to cut costs. One of the chief concerns is improving relations with unions.
PARIS – PSA Peugeot Citroen names Gilles Le Borgne, who designed its new lightweight platform, the auto maker’s new executive vice president-research and development.
Le Borgne replaces Guillaume Faury, who leaves the auto maker to become CEO of Eurocopter, the European helicopter manufacturer.
The PSA supervisory board, which controls strategic decisions and the hiring of top guns, wished Faury well and continued with a string of decisions calculated to cut costs. One of the chief concerns is an attempt to improve relations with unions.
The other new executive vice president is Philippe Dorge, named head of human resources who for the past few years has run PSA’s engine plant at Tremery. His department will have responsibility for union negotiations companywide.
In a related move, two new members have been proposed for the supervisory board: Anne Valleron to represent employee shareholders, and Jean-Francois Kondratiuk to represent employees.
“These proposals reflect the desire of the managing and supervisory boards to involve employees more closely with the group's strategic orientations and thus to enhance the quality of social dialogue within the organization," PSA says in a statement.
The supervisory board includes two members of the controlling family, Robert and Jean-Philippe Peugeot, and Louis Gallois, who indirectly represents France, which guaranteed a massive loan for PSA last year.
The managing board will shrink from six members to four: CEO Philippe Varin; Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon, executive vice president-finance; Gregoire Olivier, executive vice president-Asia, and Jean-Christophe Quemard, executive vice president-programs.
Former brands director Frederic Saint-Geours leaves the board but stays as an advisor to Varin.
Varin assigned new duties for himself and the three other members of the managing board:
Varin will take over direct reports from Maxime Picat, general manager-Peugeot, and Frederic Banzet, general manager-Citroen, to “personally ensure that the entire organization embraces each brand's customer promise.”
De Chatillon will make final decisions “on the necessary trade-offs” between the Peugeot and Citroen brands, manufacturing and purchasing. He also will ensure profitability in Latin America.
Olivier will ensure profit in Russia and oversee new manufacturing operations outside Europe and Latin America.
Quemard is in charge of projects to reduce production costs and develop PSA’s alliance with General Motors.
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