Senard told reporters on the sidelines of a French carmaker conference that the shortlist would be finished "in a very short space of time".

Renault ousted former chief executive Thierry Bollore in October, with Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan trying to rekindle their relationship after the arrest of the Renault-Nissan alliance's former head Carlos Ghosn.

(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Jon Boyle)