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Aston Martin Lagonda’s billionaire chairman is seeking his fourth chief executive in four years.
Lawrence Stroll, who is also the company’s largest shareholder, reportedly reached out to current and former heads of other luxury automakers to ask if they would be interested in taking the more sensible job.
The position is recently held by Amedeo Felisa, a veteran Ferrari executive who parachuted 21 months ago following the departure of Tobias Moers.
Moers, on the other hand, had only been in office for just under two years. His predecessor, Andy Palmer, was ousted following Mr. Stroll’s rescue of the company in 2020.
Palmer later said he learned of his firing from a reporter who called him for comment.
In the case of Moers, Stroll first denied that he intended to inform the former head of the executive before announcing his early departure “by mutual agreement”.
Under arrangements that have been in place since he took control of the company, Mr Stroll has remained as executive chairman of Aston throughout.
The identities of the auto executives contacted so far through Mr. Stroll have not been disclosed via Bloomberg, which first reported the story.
An Aston Martin spokesperson said Tuesday that the company is commenting on “rumours and speculation”.
However, an Aston source did not deny those reports. The source rejected rumors that Mr. Stroll was dissatisfied with Mr. Stroll. Felisa, who was Ferrari’s chief executive from 2008 to 2016, said it is normal for state-owned corporations to ensure proper succession. There were plans for top executives, noting that Felisa is 77 years old.
“Amedeo remains very much at the heart of leading the launch of our next generation of cars,” the insider added.
Stroll announced that Felisa would take over as chief executive in May 2022, at the same time as the abrupt departure of former Mercedes Benz boss Tobias Moers was revealed.
The Italian, highly regarded in the automobile industry, had been part of the board of directors as a non-executive director.
One former employee questioned the effect of repeated leadership adjustments on corporate morale, adding, “If you have four general managers in four years, it might be time to start wondering if it’s just a general manager problem.
“One of the problems is that whoever is in office is not a real CEO. A leading executive is rarely very executive if there is a CEO sitting above him, who is involved in all the important decisions.
Aston is preparing to launch its new two-seater Vantage sports car next Monday, following the launch of the DB12 last summer.
Cars are seen as a central element of M. ‘s company’s transformation plans. Stroll alongside the DBX707 “supercar SUV”.
However, the company warned in November that it would deliver fewer cars than expected after problems with the chain and software affected production of the DB12.
During the first few months of 2023, Aston reported a loss of £260 million.
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