Stellantis names new global purchasing boss, tasked with building supplier relationships

PARIS -- Stellantis has shuffled key leadership positions, naming Maxime Picat, currently head of its Enlarged Europe region, as head of purchasing and supply chain, replacing Michelle Wen, who has left the automaker.

Picat will be replaced in Europe by Uwe Hochgeschurtz, now head of the Opel/Vauxhall brand. His successor at Opel/Vauxhall will be Florian Huettl, head of sales and marketing at Opel.

Other changes include the appointment of Alison Jones, head of Stellantis UK, as senior vice president for the company's circular economy recylcing business.

Paul Willcox, the head of Vauxhall in the UK, will add Jones' Stellantis responsibilities in the UK to his portfolio.

"These appointments represent the bold ambitions of our strategic plan Dare Forward 2030," CEO Carlos Tavares said Wednesday in a release announcing the appointments. 

Picat, 48, had led the Enlarged Europe region since Stellantis started operations in January 2021 after the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. He had held a similar post in PSA from 2016 to 2021. Before that, he was Peugeot brand CEO from 2012 to 2016, and he worked in China for four years, as deputy general manager and then general manager of PSA's joint venture in China with Dongfeng.

Stellantis has had a difficult relationship with many suppliers -- especially in North America -- where it made controversial changes to its purchase order terms and conditions for 2022 that can force suppliers to reduce prices whenever they achieve any cost savings and to remain locked into unfavorable contracts for as long the automaker wants.

Repairing that relationship may be one of Picat's key tasks, as Tavares seeks to lower costs for EVs amid increases in raw materials, energy and logistics.

"His analytical skills and personality are likely to create trusting relationships with suppliers," Stellantis said of Picat in the release, "and enhance Stellantis' short and mid-term performance in this strategic field of activity, which is focused on lowering the cost of EVs by 40 per cent to maintain affordability, while implementing a resilient sourcing strategy that is reliable and dependable."

Wen joined PSA Group in 2017 and was named head of purchasing in 2018. She previously worked at Vodafone, Vallorec and Alstom. 

Hochgeschurtz was named head of Opel in September 2021, replacing Michael Lohscheller. He spent 10 years at Renault Group, and before that worked at Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor. He was recently given responsibility for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at Stellantis.

Huettl joined Stellantis in March 2021 after 20 years at Renault Group.

In Jones' new position, she will oversee recycling and "extended life" businesses at Stellantis, which is targeting 2 billion euros (US$2.1 billion) in revenues from the activities by 2030. That figure represents a four-fold growth in extended life revenues and 10-fold in recycling, Stellantis said. She will report to Philippe de Rovira, chief affiliates officer.