When François Provost, a distinguished Renault Group director of vast experience but low profile, suddenly succeeded Luca de Meo as CEO in July last year, there was no suggestion that he would be bothered about trying to mirror de Meo’s well- chronicled star quality or instinct for headlines.
Whereas de Meo was a kind of troubadour car boss who has specialised in orchestrating car company revivals across Europe – and in ensuring his achievements were well and truly on the record – Provost (chosen in preference to the other obvious candidate, dynamic Dacia chief Denis Le Vot) seemed a quieter, less flamboyant character. His official photographs showed a tall, bespectacled, evidently mild- mannered 57-year-old who might have been a vice-chancellor or even a vicar.