Dive Brief:
- Stellantis appointed Scott Krugger to a newly created position as head of North America design, reporting directly to CEO Antonio Filosa, the automaker announced in a July 31 press release.
- Kruger will be responsible for leading the creative direction of the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands in North America. His appointment comes a week after Stellantis named Gilles Vidal, former designer for Peugeot, as head of design for its European brands.
- “Scott’s appointment in North America and Gilles’ arrival in Europe are key to our new design organization and to our plans to bring inspiring and exciting products to the North American and European markets, giving customers an even greater freedom of choice,” said Stellantis chief design officer Ralph Gilles, in the release.
Dive Insight:
Most recently, Krugger managed exterior design for Dodge and Dodge SRT performance vehicles in North America. Prior to that, he served for five years as head of Alfa Romeo, Jeep and user experience design at the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa design studio.
The two new appointments are part of the automaker’s strategy to combine global expertise across its portfolio of 14 vehicle brands to ensure “continued alignment with local customer needs,” per the release.
The appointments are also important first steps for Gilles as he builds out the automaker’s new global design organization. Gilles is leading the automaker’s global design strategy, which includes collaboration with regional design heads on the strategic direction for each of its vehicle brands.
Gilles was named as chief design officer in June and he reports directly to Filosa.
“With Scott’s immense design talent and proven leadership in North America and Gilles’ award-winning track record in Europe, we are opening a new chapter of creative excellence with the roll out of our organization,” said Gilles in the release.
Stellantis also named Jason Stoicevich last month to lead dealer strategy and performance in North America as part of a broader initiative led by Filosa to assemble a new executive team to help lead Stellantis’ turnaround.
Filosa took over as CEO on June 23 and immediately surrounded himself with 16 new executives that he said “bring an entrepreneurial spirit and profound understanding of the company’s brands.”
Filosa was announced as Stellantis’ new CEO in May, following the resignation of former CEO Carlos Tavares in December amid declining sales and profits. But Stellantis has also struggled in the first half of 2025 as the company deals with new tariffs and other market uncertainties.
In its July earnings report, Stellantis reported its first half revenues fell 13% compared to the same period last year, resulting in an operating loss of 2.3 billion euros ($2.68 billion). The company said the impact of tariffs this year is expected to be roughly 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion).
However, the automaker's new CEO remains optimistic about its future now that its new executive team is in place and it works to launch new models in North America and Europe and return to profitability.
Filosa in June said the automaker’s new executive team are “leaders from within who bring a people-first mindset, a profound understanding of our brands, our products and our customers, best-in-class expertise and an entrepreneurial spirit that will be vital to our success.”
