Starting in September, Philippe Krief, who is currently CEO of Alpine, will step into the additional role of chief technology officer at Renault Group, while continuing his duties with the Alpine brand. He succeeds Gilles Le Borgne, who has transitioned to a strategic advisory role for CEO Luca de Meo.
As the new CTO, Krief will oversee all of Renault Group’s engineering activities and resources, reporting directly to de Meo. Krief’s extensive background, particularly his tenure as director of engineering at Ferrari, equips him well for this role. His ambition is to develop intelligent vehicles faster than competitors and to anticipate and create groundbreaking technologies and products.
Over the past year as CEO of Alpine, Krief has been instrumental in executing the automotive manufacturer’s strategy and launching the new Alpine range, including the A290 and the upcoming GT crossover. He has also driven the development of Alpine’s next platform for high-performance electric vehicles and spearheaded the hydrogen-powered Alpenglow Hy4 prototype.
Gilles Le Borgne was praised by de Meo for his contribution to the company as CTO, “Gilles has played a pivotal role in our rapid turnaround, the fastest in recent automotive history. He revitalized engineering and boosted efficiency, allowing us to deliver numerous models under the Renaulution plan this year. My heartfelt thanks to him. Philippe, with his wealth of experience, will undoubtedly continue this momentum and help us stay ahead of the competition from both the East and the West. Motorsport innovation will be key in making our vehicles more accessible to our customers.”
Krief has worked on a diverse range of models, from B-segment cars to luxury vehicles. He began his career at Michelin and has since enjoyed stints at Fiat Group, Ferrari and Maserati. He has held key positions including vehicle department director and technical director of Alfa Romeo, director of engineering at Ferrari, and director of engineering and product performance at Alpine.