It was an orderly succession. The board of directors at Renault is set to announce on Wednesday, July 30, that it has chosen François Provost, the company's current director of purchasing and institutional relations, to succeed Luca de Meo, who has left to join luxury giant Kering. Among the final candidates, the 57-year-old graduate of the prestigious École Polytechnique and engineer from the Corps des Mines, a body of French higher civil servants, was the closest to the former CEO, who reportedly prepared him to take over. "François Provost was the cornerstone of implementing the 'Renaulution' plan, especially the creation of the two subsidiaries Ampere [focused on electric vehicles] and Horse [specializing in hybrid combustion engines]," a Renault spokesperson said.

He was the one who negotiated partnerships with Chinese automaker Geely, co-shareholder with Renault in the subsidiary dedicated to combustion engines and a partner of the group in South Korea and Brazil. He also worked on bringing Saudi oil giant Aramco into the capital of this entity. Provost alsp played a vital role in unraveling the capital ties with Nissan, Renault's former partner.

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