“It cannot be sold to foreigners.” Carlos Tavares interested in managing TAP

A Portuguese-French businessman in the hotel and large distribution sector will present to the government a management proposal for TAP, led by Portuguese manager Carlos Tavares, former CEO of Stellantis and former COO of Renault.

The Portuguese manager Carlos Tavareswho recently resigned as president of the automaker Stellantis, owner of Chrysler, Peugeot and Citroen, may be on his way to TAP.

According to , during a seminar at Lusíada University, in Porto, the businessman Paulo Pereiraowner of Agribéria and companies linked to hotels and large distribution in France, revealed that the Portuguese manager agreed to position himself as candidate for TAP leadership.

“TAP cannot be sold to foreigners. I spoke with Carlos Tavares and convinced him to take over the challenge to manage TAP. I leave you with this scoop”, said Paulo Pereira”, the Portuguese-French businessman said at the time.

According to Lusojornal, the idea came up a few months ago, during a dinner at Quinta da Pacheca, owned by Paulo Pereira. At the time, when addressing TAP’s difficult situation, Carlos Tavares reportedly commented: “What a shame to see the company be sold to foreigners”.

Paulo Pereira then launched the idea that Carlos Tavares would be the ideal person to lead the company. Some time after this dinner, says Lusojornal, Carlos Tavares expressed interest in the challenge and asked Paulo Pereira to be part of the project.

Since then, Paulo Pereira in mobilized effortsmeeting with unions, airlines, administrations and politicians, while Carlos Tavares planned his departure from Stellantis, scheduled for 2026. However, that of the manager, who left the presidency of Stellantis on the 2nd, accelerated the process.

The Portuguese-French businessman guarantees that the manager is motivated to contribute to the economic development of the country that saw him born. “He can already be seen in Santarémon top of a tractor, or in the vineyards of the North. You don’t need TAP to livebut he wants to make a difference”, he explains.

With Carlos Tavares at the helm, “TAP may not only recover profitabilityas well as being able reimburse investments made by the State and return the money to the Brazilian taxpayer”, says Paulo Pereira. “Putting TAP at the top is a patriotic objective, shared by all Portuguese”.

According to Lusojornal, Paulo Pereira and Carlos Tavares have maintained contacts with the Prime Minister’s Office, and are expected to present their TAP management proposal to the Prime Minister in the coming weeks, Luis Montenegro.

Manager with solid reputation in the automotive sectorCarlos Tavares was until the beginning of the month executive director of Stellantis, the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world by sales, formed by the merger of the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which owns, among other brands, Peugeot, Citroen, Chrysler, Opel, Jeep and Fiat.

Before arriving at Stellantis, he had been Renault operations directorand director of the board of directors and executive director of the PSA group, which in 2021 merged with Fia Chrysler Automobiles to form Stellantis.

Since 2016, he has been a member of the Airbus Board of Directors.