PSA names former Renault, Nissan execs to head Citroen, DS brands
PARIS — PSA Group named Vincent Cobee, a former Renault-Nissan alliance executive, as CEO of the Citroen brand, replacing Linda Jackson, who will take on a strategic role within the group.
PSA also said Wednesday that Beatrice Foucher, another former Renault-Nissan alliance executive, will be the CEO of its DS Automobiles upscale brand, replacing Yves Bonnefont.
Jackson, who had led Citroen since 2014 and also oversaw PSA’s low-emissions vehicle business unit, will lead a study “to clarify and support differentiation” of PSA’s brands, and will report to CEO Carlos Tavares. PSA last month signed a memorandum of understanding to merge with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The merged PSA-FCA will have more than a dozen brands.
Cobee, a French national, left Mitsubishi in April 2019 as part of a wider shuffle among the top ranks at Nissan and Mitsubishi in the wake of the arrest of Carlos Ghosn last November. He joined Citroen as deputy CEO in October 2019. He had worked for 17 years at the Renault Nissan alliance, largely at Nissan.
Cobee’s last position was as executive planning officer at Mitsubishi Motors, which he held from 2017 until April 2019. He had also led the Datsun brand and served as head of purchasing at Nissan in Europe.
Bonnefont, who has run DS since June 2014 when it became a standalone brand, will lead a study of potential synergies and cost savings across brands, PSA said. The role will include studying brand positioning “from a customer and geographic point of view,” PSA said. He will also report to Tavares.
Foucher joined PSA in April 2019 as senior vice president for talent management. She held a similar role at the Renault-Nissan alliance starting in 2015.
Foucher’s other positions at the alliance included Renault program director for electric cars, where she helped to launch the Zoe; Renault’s head of product planning; and director of product planning for upper- range cars, studying synergies between Renault and Nissan. She started at Renault in 1990.
