Philippe Varin, chief executive officer of steel maker Corus, will take over as the chairman of the managing board of French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen from June this year.

Varin is currently the chief of Indian conglomerate Tatas-owned Corus - the world's sixth-largest steel maker.

The supervisory board of Peugeot has appointed Varin as the chairman of the managing board with effect from June 1, 2009, it said in a statement.

Media reports said Varin would be taking over as CEO. In January, Corus said that Varin would step down as its chief executive on April 6, 2009.

Peugeot had shown the door to its managing board chairman Christian Streiff only weeks after the company posted huge losses and also came up with job cuts.

"Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the supervisory board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary," Peugeot's supervisory board chairman Thierry Peugeot said.

In the meantime, Roland Vardanega, member of the managing board, would act as interim chairman till Varin takes over in June.

Fifty-six-year-old Varin was at the helm of affairs when Corus was acquired by Tata Steel [Get Quote] for more than $12 billion in 2007.