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.

(Reuters) -Francois-Henri Pinault's reported decision to hire Renault boss Luca de Meo is an audacious but necessary move to address the twin challenge of sagging sales and mounting debt at luxury group Kering, investors and industry players say.