NAVYA, a leading company in autonomous driving systems, announces the strengthening of its management team with the appointment of Pierre Lahutte as Chief Strategy & Development Officer.
Aged 48, Pierre was until 2019 President of the IVECO brand in charge of Bus and Truck activities, representing a turnover of approximately €9 billion. Pierre has more than 20 years of experience in the agricultural vehicle, bus and truck industries acquired during his career at New Holland, CNH and IVECO.
He began his career in 1997 at New Holland with an international career in the United States and Brazil. He then continued his career with senior sales positions in Spain, Africa, Japan and Benelux where he was in charge of CNH’s agricultural activities. In 2007, he was appointed Global Head of New Holland’s Tractor Business, leading the complete overhaul of the product offering, successfully repositioning the brand and winning numerous international awards, including the SIMA gold medal in Paris with the first hydrogen-powered tractor.
In 2012, Pierre joins IVECO to take responsibility for the Bus activity. In 2014 he is promoted as President of the IVECO brand in charge of the Bus and Truck activities within CNH Industrial, the new company created by the merger of CNH and IVECO. Under his leadership IVECO returned to profitability, strongly developed its alternative powertrain offering and was the first ever manufacturer to display a zero diesel stand at the 2018 Hannover Commercial Vehicle Show.
From 2014 to January 2019, Pierre was a member of the Board of Directors of ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association). Since May 2020, Pierre has been a member of the Board of Directors of FRIEM S.p.A.
Pierre holds a Tank Officer degree from the French Armored Cavalry School in Saumur, a Master Grandes Écoles in Marketing and Technology Management from NEOMA Rouen Business school and an MBA from the UMASS ISENBERG School of Management, Amherst, USA. He speaks 7 languages acquired during the course of his international career.
Etienne Hermite, Chief Executive Officer of NAVYA, says: “I am very pleased to welcome Pierre Lahutte at NAVYA. Thanks to his experience and international profile, Pierre will enable NAVYA to take the next step in the industrialization of its autonomous driving solutions, through the partnerships we are building with car, bus, truck and speciality vehicle players. The next challenge for the sector is to scale up, which will only be possible with industrial, robust and efficient solutions. Pierre will contribute to NAVYA’s acceleration.”
Pierre Lahutte said: “I am pleased to join NAVYA to bring my knowledge of the industrial players in passenger transport and speciality vehicles. The challenge is to incorporate the autonomous driving technologies developed by NAVYA on platforms and business models that I have been familiar with for 20 years. On a personal note, this is for me the first experience in start-ups, which I have wanted for a long time. My meetings with NAVYA’s Board and management have convinced me of the opportunity.”
Charles Beigbeder, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, concludes: “This is the right time for NAVYA to welcome on board someone of Pierre Lahutte’s stature. He will assist the management in this decisive stage where technology is close to fulfill the self-driving promise.”