Karin ADT, at the wheel of a smart car during the time he was vice-president of Mercedes-Benz, photo: Uli deck / DPA / Profimedia
Renault named Katrin ADT on Monday, the former Mercedes-Benz vice-president, as general director of the Dacia brand, in the reorganization of the management team under the new CEO of the French company, François Provest, reports Reuters.
ADT will deal with the Dacia brand after his former director, Denis voted, decided to leave Renault. Voting them was among the foreground candidates for the position of CEO of Renault.
Renault said in a statement that he will now leave the company, without providing other details. The company appointed to the challenge as a CEO in July, after the sudden departure of the former chief of Meo.
Provest said the leadership changes will help the company move faster to adapt to the current challenges. Renault is experiencing growing competition and poor demand. The price of the company’s shares collapsed last month, after it has revised its financial estimates down for 2025.
“To cope with all the challenges we face, we need an organization capable of making decisions faster, executing more efficiently and always being close to its customers,” he said.
Who is the new director of the Dacia brand
The new Dacia head has almost 26 years of experience in the auto industry, working for Daimler, respectively Mercedes-Benz, Startup Cafe shows. With a legal training, he held various management positions: CEO of Mercedes-Benz in Luxembourg, vice president of human resources development in Daimler, CEO of the Smart brand and then CEO of Mercedes-Benz Own Retail Europe. More recently, he led the corporate audit at Mercedes-Benz.
“I am delighted to join the Renault group and take over the leadership of the Dacia brand. It is a privilege to contribute to writing the next chapter of its remarkable successful story, along with an exceptional team,” she said.
“Modeling business for the future has always been my motor force. Today, we are at a crucial moment-both technologically and socially-in our relationship with the car. Dacia has constantly demonstrated its relevance through products that deeply resonates with customer expectations. More than a simple brand, Dacia represents a bold vision,”
The Reuters agency notes that, with a career focused on retail and sales, ADT has led several transformations to companies it worked on, including the smart transition into a 100% electric brand.
Michael Foundoukidis, an analyst at the ODDO BHF financial services group, told Reuters that the focus placed on retail throughout his career will be important for Dacia.
“Dacia is obviously an extremely retail -oriented brand, more than others. So this brings a new breath,” he said.
