Philippe Krief is a French automotive engineer and executive who serves as CEO of the Alpine brand and Chief Technology Officer of Renault Group. A graduate of France's École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA), he is a chassis and vehicle-dynamics specialist with extensive experience developing road cars from mainstream models to multi-million-euro supercars. ¹²

Early industry career

Krief began his career at Michelin, working on tyre development including a spell in Japan, before moving to the Fiat Group to lead chassis development across a range of platforms. He then worked across Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo, holding senior roles including vehicle department director and technical director of the Alfa Romeo brand, where his work is associated with the dynamic development of high-performance Italian road cars. ¹²

“Philippe Krief is a French automotive engineer and executive who serves as CEO of the Alpine brand and Chief Technology Officer of Renault Group.”

Return to Ferrari

In June 2016 Krief returned to Ferrari as Director of Engineering, applying his chassis and dynamics expertise on the road-car side of the business. This Ferrari engineering pedigree was repeatedly cited as a key qualification when he later joined Renault Group, lending technical credibility to Alpine's sports-car ambitions. ¹²

Alpine and Renault Group

Krief joined Alpine on 21 February 2023 as Director of Engineering and Product Performance, and on 20 July 2023 was appointed CEO of the Alpine brand, succeeding Laurent Rossi. He was charged with leading the brand's electrification and new models, including the electric A290. From 1 September 2024 he additionally took on the role of Renault Group Chief Technology Officer, overseeing the group's engineering activities while continuing to lead Alpine. He was named Automotive News Europe's 2025 Eurostar winner for Engineering. ¹²³

Relationship to the F1 team

Krief leads the wider Alpine brand — the road-car business and Renault Group engineering — and is listed among Alpine's senior figures, rather than running the Formula 1 team day-to-day, which falls to the Enstone management under Flavio Briatore. His remit places him at the apex of Alpine and Renault Group technology strategy, the corporate level above the race team. ²³

Why he matters

Why it matters: the F1 team is the most visible expression of the Alpine brand Krief leads, and the road-car business funds and benefits from it. As both Alpine CEO and Renault Group CTO, he sits at the junction of commercial strategy and engineering, shaping the corporate environment in which the F1 programme's budget and direction are set. ²³

Bottom line

Krief is a senior automotive engineer whose career spans Michelin, Fiat, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, now leading Alpine as brand CEO and serving as Renault Group's technology chief. He represents the broader corporate and engineering structure within which Alpine's F1 programme sits. ¹³