Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos heads to Alfa Romeo, Klaus Busse shifts to Maserati
Design changes at the FCA Group see Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos appointed at Alfa Romeo, while Klaus Busse will have a more focused role
Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos has been chosen as the new head of design at Alfa Romeo. He replaces Klaus Busse, who will stay within the FCA Group but with a revised focus on leading the design team at Maserati.
The news confirms what was previously rumoured, with Mesonero-Romanos officially leaving his role at Renault as head of design for the Dacia brand only eight months after his appointment. Before this, he had been design director at Seat for nearly ten years where he oversaw the creation of several key models such as the fourth generation Leon, fifth generation Ibizia and the Arona. He also helped in the birth of the Cupra marque (with its underpinnings in Seat Sport – the motorsport arm of Seat).
Meanwhile, Busse’s shift to working solely on Maserati directly follows his seven-year tenure as leading all of FCA’s European brands. This could signal one of two changes: either an alleviated workload for Busse, or a new era of rapid design change at FCA. The latter would make sense, as Lancia is also due to make a comeback.
Like Busse, Mesonero-Romanos will report to Jean-Pierre Ploué, chief design officer at Stellantis. He is charged with leading the push towards electrification at Alfa Romeo. “Alejandro’s arrival represents a great opportunity for Alfa Romeo,” said Ploué. ”Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos is a car enthusiast and did a wonderful job at Cupra. The design team and I look forward to working with him.”