Stroll goes on the hunt for fourth Aston Martin CEO in four years

Aston Martin is searching for its fourth chief executive in four years according to The Telegraph.

Chairman Lawrence Stroll, who boosted his stake in the luxury car manufacturer to 26.23% in September, is allegedly contacting current and former bosses of other brands to see if they would be willing to take the helm.

Former Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa has been CEO of Aston Martin since the departure of Tobias Moers in May 2022, who had been in post for just under two years. 

Following Stroll’s takeover of the business, Andy Palmer was removed as CEO after taking the manufacturer public in 2018 in an IPO worth £4.3bn. However, the firm’s value plummeted to £540m in 2020. 

Aston Martin reported a year-to-date loss before tax of £260m last year, a 49% decrease from its year-to-date 2022 loss of £511m. This was also impacted by the revaluation of its US dollar-denominated debt.

Strong demand has been seen across existing and new product lines, with the recently launched DB12 driving reappraisal of Aston Martin amongst new audiences, with 55% of its initial customers new to the brand and the order book extending to Q2 2024.

Revenue has increased by 21% year-on-year to £1.04bn, which the group says is primarily driven by higher volumes of core and special vehicles, as well as the first deliveries of the sold-out Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider.