After almost six years at the helm of Aston Martin Lagonda, CEO Andy Palmer is reportedly leaving.
His replacement will be Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers, reports The Financial Times.
When the paper contacted Palmer for comment, he said he hadn’t been informed of the imminent announcement. It’s expected to be officially announced on Tuesday.
In the interim, Aston Martin has confirmed it’s “reviewing its management team” and that a further announcement will be made. The company’s chief financial officer already left earlier this year, while Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll replaced Penny Hughes as chairman.
A consortium led by Stroll recently acquired a 25 per cent stake in the company.
The move to replace Palmer is part of a shake-up at a company that has seen share prices fall by more than 90 per cent since its initial public offering in October 2018. The decline began well before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company also posted a pre-tax loss of £119 million (A$226 million) in the first quarter of this year. That’s even more than it lost in 2019 overall, when it posted a loss of £104 million, and it’s led the company to withdraw its outlook for 2020.
Appointing Moers as CEO brings Aston Martin closer to Daimler, who acquired a five per cent stake in the automaker in 2013. The German giant currently supplies twin-turbocharged V8 engines to Aston Martin.
Palmer became CEO in October 2014 and the company recorded its first profitable year in seven years in 2017.
Under his tenure, the company also opened a new factory in Wales to produce the DBX SUV. It’s already been reopened following a temporary closure due to Coronavirus, and deliveries of this crucial new SUV are expected to start mid-year.
