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.

After impressing with his turnaround of French automaker Renault, Luca De Meo is widely expected to be named as the new boss of Gucci owner and luxury powerhouse Kering.

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.