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MILAN (Reuters) - Carmaker Stellantis has nominated Daniel Ramot and Alice Schroeder as new board members, as well as proposing the re-election of five others, it said on Monday, as the mandates of seven of its executives come to an end.
Ramot is the Israeli-American co-founder and CEO of Via, a global transportation technology company, while Schroeder is a former managing director at Morgan Stanley who currently sits on the boards of companies including HSBC North America.
"The board believes that Schroeder's deep expertise in financial oversight and strategic leadership, combined with Ramot's extensive experience in technology, research, and innovation, will provide highly valuable insights and strengthen the leadership of Stellantis," the company said in a statement.
Ramot and Schroeder are set to replace Philippines-born Wan Ling Martello and France's Jacques Saint-Exupery.
The move gives Chairman John Elkann, who is steering Stellantis while it searches for a new CEO after Carlos Tavares resigned in December, a greater grip on the automaker. But it also further shifts its governance from Europe to the United States, traditionally Stellantis' most profitable market.
Elkann is the leader of Italy's Agnelli family, which is Stellantis' single largest shareholder through its investment holding EXOR. Exor has long been an investor in Ramot's Via.
Stellantis' board proposed the re-election of current executives Fiona Cicconi, Nicolas Dufourcq, Ann Godbehere, Claudia Parzani and Benoit Ribadeau-Dumas.
The proposed seven non-executive directors, who need to be appointed at an annual shareholders meeting on April 15, would serve a two-year term, Stellantis said.
Stellantis has a 11-strong board, including the currently vacant CEO seat. The world's fourth-largest automaker by sales was created in early 2021 through the merger of Italian American Fiat Chrysler and France's Peugeot owner PSA.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)