While fixing French carmaker Renault SA, Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo pursued a hobby that would feed into his next job as CEO of Kering SA: A taste for the finer things in life, particularly Swiss watches.

By Gilles Guillaume, Mimosa Spencer and Mathieu RosemainPARIS (Reuters) -Gucci owner Kering said it was hiring Renault boss Luca de Meo as its new CEO, confirming reports that sent its shares soaring and those of Renault to multi-year lows earlier on Monday.

The automotive group Renault announced on Sunday evening that its CEO Luca de Meo is stepping down after five years in office. The reason for this is