Aston Martin to replace chief executive with ex-Ferrari boss

Aston Martin will announce the immediate departure of chief executive Tobias Moers on Wednesday, according to two people inside the carmaker.

He will be replaced by the former Ferrari chief executive Amedeo Felisa, who currently sits on Aston’s board as a non-executive director, the people said.

Moers will leave after presiding over a collapse in morale at the business as he oversaw a far-reaching turnround of the luxury carmaker.

He was brought into the business as both chief executive and chief technical officer from Mercedes AMG by executive chair Lawrence Stroll, who led a bailout of the company in 2020.

He was forensic in detail and engineering knowledge, but became known for a robust management style.

Dozens of senior employees have left the company during Moers’ two-year tenure, according to Financial Times calculations and details from multiple people inside and around the company, although many have been replaced.

His departure will be announced alongside the company’s first-quarter results on Wednesday morning.

When contacted on Tuesday evening, Aston Martin said: “Aston Martin will provide a full market update as part of its quarterly announcement in the morning.”

In January, Stroll told the FT that he was “absolutely not engaged whatsoever in looking to replace Tobias” following reports that a search had begun for a new boss for the business.

At the time, he praised Moers for hitting a “major milestone” in helping turn round the company following a bailout led by Stroll in early 2020.

Felisa, who joined Aston’s board last summer, worked at Ferrari from the 1990s until 2016, rising to become chief executive of the supercar maker in 2008. He joins as Aston prepares to launch its next range of sports cars, and looks at offering electric models by the middle of the decade.

Stroll wants the business to emulate Ferrari by regaining luxury appeal, and has realigned sales with demand and sought to raise prices.