Supplier CEO
Patrick Koller
CEO, Faurecia
TITLE: CEO
COMPANY: Faurecia
BASED: Nanterre, France
AGE: 63
NATIONALITY: French
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Patrick Koller, who holds dual French and German citizenship, has an engineering degree from ESSTIN in Nancy, France. His management career at major automotive suppliers began in 1994, when he joined Valeo. Koller became managing director Engine Cooling Europe Division in 1999. In 2000 he moved to Rhodia, where he rose to Group Industrial and Purchasing director. He then joined Faurecia as executive vice president Automotive Seating in 2006, a position he held until 2015. In 2016, Koller was named CEO.
REASON FOR WINNING
Koller faced a huge challenge in 2021, when Faurecia became a fully independent company after PSA Group divested its controlling stake ahead of the merger with Fiat Chrysler to create Stellantis. Koller hit the ground running, with several major M&A actions, most notably a deal to acquire Hella that was finalized in 2022, creating the joint company Forvia. "As an independent company, we needed to grow," Koller says.
The Hella acquisition gives Faurecia exposure to the growing lighting market, as well as solid business in electronics and sensors. Koller says the deal, which will help boost Faurecia's sales to 30 billion euros in 2025, offers opportunities for synergies in purchasing, real estate and vertical integration. Faurecia also continued a push into hydrogen power, with the announcement of major contracts with Stellantis, SAIC, Hyundai and others. Says Koller: "If you don't win the main contracts that are put on the market now, you won't have the volume to industrialize the system."