PEOPLE WATCH
Antonio Filosa, CEO, Stellantis. Francesco Ciancia. Emanuele Cappellano. Grégoire Olivier. Ralph Gilles.
Stellantis makes new leadership moves
Francesco Ciancia rejoined automaker Stellantis NV on 1 November 2025 as Global Head of Manufacturing and a member of the Stellantis Leadership Team( SLT). Arnaud Deboeuf has left the company to pursue other opportunities.
“ Ciancia has gained over two decades of global leadership experience in manufacturing engineering, plant management and lean production system application. He rejoins Stellantis from Mercedes-Benz, where he served as Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans Operations in Stuttgart, Germany, successfully initiating the transformation of its production network,” Stellantis explained.
Before joining Mercedes-Benz in 2022, Ciancia worked at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles( FCA) and Stellantis starting in 2001, with responsibilities including plant manager of the Kragujevac( Serbia) site, head of manufacturing for Latin America and head of manufacturing for Maserati and premium brands for Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
“ I’ m delighted to welcome Francesco back to our ranks and as a member of our Leadership Team. His new role as Head of
Global Manufacturing will be critical to our future success, as we move relentlessly to take the consistency, efficiency and competitiveness of our production processes worldwide to new levels,” commented Stellantis CEO, Antonio Filosa.
On 8 October 2025, and just before the presentation of its 2026 strategy, Stellantis also announced other new appointments to the Stellantis Leadership Team( SLT). Emanuele Cappellano was appointed Head of Enlarged Europe and European Brands, in addition to his current role leading Stellantis Pro One. Jean-Philippe Imparato will now focus full-time on driving performance improvements at Maserati, as CEO, and Stellantis & You, reporting to Cappellano.
Herlander Zola, currently Head of Commercial Operations Brazil and South America Light Commercial Vehicles, is appointed Head of the South America region, succeeding Cappellano. Samir Cherfan joins the SLT, maintaining his responsibilities as Head of Middle East & Africa and Micromobility. Grégoire Olivier, currently Head of China Strategy, is appointed Head of the China and Asia-Pacific region and SLT member.
Ralph Gilles joins the SLT as Global Head of Design. Philippe de Rovira, formerly Head of the joint Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, leaves Stellantis to pursue new career endeavours.
“ With these new appointments we are promoting exceptional talent from inside and out to leadership roles as we prepare our business for future success. We are also sharpening our regional focus by allocating specific responsibility for our Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa organisations at the SLT level,” added Antonio Filosa.
“ We are delighted that we will continue to benefit from Jean-Philippe’ s expertise in his new role. Our thanks go to Arnaud and Philippe for their contributions over the years and we wish them the best in their future endeavours,” he concluded.
The Stellantis portfolio of brands includes Abarth; Alfa Romeo; Chrysler; Citroën; Dodge; DS Automobiles; FIAT; Jeep ®; Lancia; Maserati; Opel; Peugeot; Ram; Vauxhall; Free2move and Leasys. n
www
. stellantis. com
Dr. Ingo Kuhl joins Weiler Abrasives
Weiler Abrasives, a global specialist in surface conditioning solutions, has confirmed the appointment of Dr. Ingo Kuhl as its Vice President of Technology and Product Development. In this role, Kuhl will lead Weiler’ s global efforts to design and deliver its next generation of products.
Kuhl brings over 20 years of global experience in the
Dr. Ingo Kuhl. abrasives and materials industry. Most recently, he served as managing director at Krebs & Riedel, where he oversaw
R & D, production, quality and international expansion initiatives in China and India.
Previously, Kuhl led research groups at RWTH Aachen University and held senior technical and production roles at Rüggeberg and Alfons Schmeier. Kuhl holds a Doctorate in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering from RWTH Aachen University and has led numerous research collaborations with academic and industrial partners.
Weiler Abrasives, guided by its strategic plan, is expanding its product portfolio and developing solutions that address demanding applications in critical industries— from metal fabrication to engineered surface management.
The family company’ s current portfolio includes bonded and coated abrasives; diamond tools; surface conditioning discs; power brushes; scratch brushes and custom technical fabrics. The products are designed to address cleaning, grinding, cutting, de-burring and finishing challenges for manufacturers. n
https:// emea. weiler abrasives. com
10 | ismr. net | ISMR November 2025