FRANCE: PSA boss puts director focus on Asia

PSA Peugeot Citroën CEO Philippe Varin has put board member Grégoire Olivier in charge of operations in Asia. He will be based in Shanghai and have responsibility for China, India, Japan and the ASEAN countries. The move takes effect from 1 September.

May 26, 2010

The move is one of a number of organisational changes Varin is making with the goal of strengthening management’s global scope and operating efficiency, the company said in a statement.

Styling, projects and engineering operations will join the research and development department, which will also include the group’s research and innovation operations. The department will be headed by Guillaume Faury.
The brands department, headed by Jean-Marc Gales, now includes marketing and product operations.
An industrial operations department has been created and will be headed by Denis Martin. It comprises the group’s manufacturing operations and industrial relations in Europe, as well as the global supply chain.
Jean-Christophe Quémard will become executive vice president, programmes. He will be responsible for defining and implementing vehicle and sub-assembly programmes for the entire group and for developing the modular production and industrial operations strategies.
A human resources and quality department has been created and will be headed by Claude Brunet, who is joining the group. It comprises all functions related to the global management of skills and human resources, as well as functions that improve quality and performance.

PSA said that the responsibilities of Frédéric Saint-Geours, head of finance and strategic development, are unchanged as are those of Jean-Claude Hanus, corporate secretary.

In other changes, Yannick Bezard has been appointed vice president purchasing, replacing Jean-Christophe Quémard.