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.

Gucci owner Kering said it was hiring Renault boss Luca de Meo as its new CEO to help revive the debt-laden luxury conglomerate, confirming reports that sent its shares soaring and those of Renault tumbling earlier on Monday.

The Italian is set to leave Renault next month to become boss of Kering, the struggling owner of Gucci and Saint Laurent, from mid-September. While de Meo has spent his entire career in the car industry,