MILAN, May 28 (Reuters) -

Franco-Italian-US automaker Stellantis ( STLA ) on

Wednesday named Antonio Filosa, the Italian head of its North

American operations, as its new chief executive, effective from

June 23.

Filosa, 51, will be expected to focus on the challenging

task of reviving Stellantis' ( STLA ) fortunes, especially on its key

U.S. market, after it suffered a 70% drop in net profit and a

6-billion-euro ($6.75 billion) cash burn in 2024.

"The board selected Antonio Filosa to be CEO based on

his proven track record of hands-on success during his more than

25 years in the automotive industry", Stellantis ( STLA ) said in a

statement.

Filosa will also need to rein in Stellantis ( STLA ) sprawling

14-brand portfolio -- with analysts and experts thinking the

automaker should terminate or sell some of them -- and complete

a process to restore the group's fraught relations with dealers,

unions and governments.

He succeeds Carlos Tavares, who quit the group in December

after sharp drops in profits and sales raised questions about

his management.

Since then, the automaker has been provisionally led by its

Chairman John Elkann, a scion of the Agnelli family that founded

Fiat, now part of Stellantis ( STLA ).

The Agnellis are Stellantis' ( STLA ) single largest investor through

their family holding company Exor. The group's other

brands include Peugeot and Jeep.

Having exceeded 27 euros early last year, Stellantis's ( STLA )

Milan-listed shares shed over two thirds of their value in the

following 12 months.

Stellantis ( STLA ) was created in early 2021 through the merger of

Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot's owner PSA, with Carlos Tavares, the

former PSA head, as its first CEO.

Filosa has been leading Stellantis ( STLA ) in North America since

October.

In 2023 he was also appointed global head of Jeep, one of

Stellantis ( STLA ) key brands, a role he quit this year when, as part of

a wider management reshuffle, he was also given the additional

role of Stellantis ( STLA ) global chief for quality.

An Italian national, Filosa was born in the southern city of

Naples, spent his youth in the region of Puglia in the south,

and graduated in engineering from Milan's Polytechnic. Married

to a Brazilian architect, he is the father of two sons and has a

passion for water polo.

He joined Fiat Group in 1999, where he covered several

roles, predominantly in Latin America, becoming Fiat Chrysler

chief in the region in 2018. He then served as Stellantis ( STLA ) COO

for South America.

Despite his Fiat background and Italian nationality, he has

hardly ever worked in Italy and can offer the global profile

that the Stellantis ( STLA ) board had been looking for to address issues

at the multinational carmaker.

His recent years as head of Stellantis' ( STLA ) North American

business can also prove an asset in dealing with President

Donald Trump's administration and respond to its tariff

policies.