Faure to be replaced at Renault

Patrick Faure, President of the Renault F1 Team, will retire after 27 years in numerous positions of responsibility at Renault, in particular at the head of the Sales & Marketing Department and as Chairman and CEO of Renault V1 and Renault Sport. He will be replaced on April 3 by Alain Dassas, currently Senior Vice President of Financial Operations and member of the Management Committee.

After Renault’s double Formula 1 victory in 2005, Carlos Ghosn paid homage to the performance of the Renault team under the guidance of Patrick Faure, saying "For the company, this Formula 1 victory is a historic event. It is the fruit of Renault's investment and the determination of the entire F1 team, and demonstrates that Renault is capable of excellence. Together with Alain Dassas, our objective is to maintain the successful momentum of the Renault F1 Team.

Patrick Faure was born on May 12, 1946 in Périgueux, France. He is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration. He was administrative officer at the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations in 1972, then Chairman and CEO of Gelbon in 1977. He joined Renault in 1977 as Toulouse branch manager. Successively managing director of Renault Austria (1981) and Renault UK (1982), Director, public affairs and corporate communications (1985) and group secretary general (1988), Patrick Faure was appointed Chairman and CEO of Renault Sport in 1991 and Chairman and CEO of Renault V.I. in 1998. He was named Executive Vice President of Renault and President of Renault F1 Team in 2001. At the end of 2004, he left his duties as Executive Vice President, a position he had held since 1991. He also left the Group Executive Committee, of which he had been a member since it was first set up in 1987. Since January 1, 2005, Patrick Faure has devoted himself exclusively to his duties as President of the Renault F1 Team.

Alain Dassas was born on August 5, 1946 in Paris. He is a graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and holds a postgraduate degree in econometrics and a Master in Management Science from Stanford University. He began his career in 1973 at the Chase Manhattan Bank and held different positions in financial analysis, trading and corporate banking in France and New York. He joined Renault in 1983 as head of its financial office in New York. He went on to become COO of Société Financière et Foncière (Renault's in-house bank) in 1986, Director of Relations with the banking sector and financial markets in 1988, Finance Director of Renault Crédit International (RCI) in 1990 and Vice President, Financial Operations in 1997, working on major strategic agreements such as the Renault Nissan Alliance, Renault-Dacia in Romania, Renault Samsung Motors and Volvo. He was appointed Senior Vice President, Finance of Renault in April 2001 and became a member of the Renault Management Committee in January 2003.