Renault CEO Luca de Meo is leaving the company he turned from an automaker posting record losses to Europe’s most successful car company in just five years.

The company announced de Meo’s exit while the French newspaper Le Figaro says he will now take charge of the luxury brand Gucci’s parent company, Kering, Reuters reports.

“Luca de Meo has expressed his decision to step down in order to take on new challenges outside the automotive sector,” Renault says in a company statement.

In response to Renault’s board of directors thanking him for his achievements in turning the brand around, in a joint statement de Meo thanked the company chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, for choosing him to lead the company.

“There comes a time in one’s life when one knows the job is done,” says de Meo, adding, “I am leaving a transformed company, poised for the future, to apply my experience to other sectors and embark on new adventures.”

The Italian’s unexpected exit will sadden many industry watchers who have had the pleasure to interview a charming man who always had time to explain his business strategies and views of the challenges and opportunities facing the modern automotive sector.

His loss to the European industry is most keenly felt during the current uncertainty posed by the tariffs placed on it by U.S. President Donald Trump while facing fierce competition from Chinese rivals.

He joined Renault from the Volkswagen Group in 2020 as the French automaker was recording record losses after the COVID pandemic devasted its vehicle sales.

To turn Renault around, de Meo embarked on a campaign of cost-cutting, slashing the number of employees and reducing global vehicle production to create a smaller, more agile company.

His refocus on concentrating Renault’s efforts on its core European markets have protected the brand from exposure to sales in the U.S. that is hurting its rival German brands. Currently, Renault is one of only a few automakers not to issue a profit warning for this year and its are shares up about 90% over the past five years, making it the best-performing carmaker in Europe.

Admittedly, de Meo’s business strategy caused some friction with labor unions and also damaged relations with the brand’s Alliance partner, Nissan, already scarred by the alleged fraudulent activities of former CEO Carlos Ghosn.

In fact, the Japanese business newspaper Nikkei reports this weekend that Nissan’s new CEO, Ivan Espinosa, says in an interview that it is considering reducing its stake in Renault still further to raise funds.