Carlos Tavares


Carlos Tavares is a Portuguese businessman who serves as the chief executive officer and Chairman of the Managing Board of Groupe PSA, France's largest car manufacturer. He was formerly the chief operating officer at Renault

Early life

Carlos Tavares was born in 1958 in Portugal. He grew up in Lisbon. He graduated from the École Centrale Paris.

Career

Renault

Tavares started his career at Renault in 1981. He was director of the Renault Mégane II project.
Between 2004 and 2011, he worked for Nissan, Renault's partner in the Renault–Nissan Alliance, first as programme director and then as vice-president, product strategy and product planning. In 2005 Tavares was appointed executive vice-president, joining the Board of Directors. By 2009, he oversaw Nissan's presence in North and South America.
By 2011, he moved back to Renault to become chief operating officer, the number two executive under Carlos Ghosn, the chairman and chief executive officer of Renault and Nissan. Tavares had much in common with Ghosn, as both were "raised in Portuguese-speaking environments. Both went on to graduate from French Grandes Ecoles and - perhaps less surprisingly - both like fast cars". However, Tavares resigned from Renault on August 29, 2013, two weeks after publicly saying that he wanted to become CEO at an automaker, and Tavares reportedly refusing Ghosn's demand that he apologize to staff for the gaffe. It was said that Tavares was ambitious and sought more responsibilities at Renault, however Ghosn was only four years older and had no plans to step aside soon.

Groupe PSA

Tavares has served as the chief executive officer and Chairman of the Managing Board of Groupe PSA since 2014, replacing Philippe Varin. During his tenure, he has spearheaded cost-cutting measures and increased the company's market share in China, which returned Groupe PSA back to profitability after several years of losses. In 2014, under his leadership, DS Automobiles is created as a stand-alone brand.
Tavares became CEO of Groupe PSA in 2014. As CEO, he gathered praise for the PSA take over of Opel and return to profitability of Opel, and for PSA's record sales and profits. However, PSA sales in China slipped again. Furthermore, he instigated the proposed merger of PSA with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Other activities

Tavares has three children. He has been an amateur race car driver since the age of twenty-two. He has competed in the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. He also collects classic cars and owns a 1979 Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé, a 1976 Alpine A110 and a Porsche 912 from 1966. He had a career as a rally driver until the early 1990s.