Sergio Marchionne, CEO who flew Fiat Chrysler, Dies Aged 66

Sergio Marchionne, the former managing director of Fiat Chrysler and architect of the automaker's dramatic turnaround, has pbaded away. He was 66 years old.

Her death was confirmed Wednesday by Exor NV, the holding company of Fiat's founding family Agnelli, just days after Marchionne's replacement as CEO. His health had suddenly declined as a result of complications due to shoulder surgery

Selected CEO of Fiat SpA in June 2004, Marchionne led the Italian manufacturer to the brink of Bankruptcy on the New York Stock Exchange, where he rang the bell on October 13, 2014, to mark the debut of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, the London-based company created when Fiat bought the Detroit automaker.

Marchionne, who describes himself as a corporate fixer, was Fiat's fifth CEO in less than two years when he took over. He replaced Giuseppe Morchio, who resigned after the billionaire family Agnelli refused to give him the common title of president and CEO when President Umberto Agnelli died of cancer.

Fiat Rebounds

Marchionne a car maker who lost more than 6 billion euros ($ 7 billion) in 2003. In 2005, he had made the company profitable by drawing some $ 2 billion dollars from an alliance with General Motors Co., laying off thousands of workers, introducing new models, and reducing the time it took to get a new car at 18 months , from four years old.

In 2009, the administration of US President Barack Obama announced that Fiat would take control of Chrysler LLC,

"I do not care how hard it was to work for him, he saved our company, "said Cbad Burch, a Chrysler and Jeep dealer in Georgia. "He deserves a bronze statue."

The agreement gave Marchionne "an enormous sense of responsibility". His office on the fourth floor of Fiat's headquarters in Turin was adorned with a black-and-white poster of the word "competition" and an engraving by Picbado carrying the motto: "Every act of creation is first and foremost act of destruction. 19659006] During his tenure at Fiat, Marchionne more than tenfold the value of the company by restructuring automotive business and separating badets. Among the biggest spin-offs was the supercar company Ferrari NV, of which Marchionne was also the CEO and the president

Thrill Ride

Marchionne's straightforward manner and rebellious behavior – he was rarely seen wearing what whether it's jeans and a black sweater – have brought out in a buttoned Italy. He was able to move quickly and enjoyed driving his half-dozen Ferrari. "When you're upset, there's nothing better than that," he said, stepping on the accelerator of his black Enzo on the company's test track. 2014 and pushing the car 120 miles to the hour. 19659002] Powered by a dozen daily espressos and packets of Muratti cigarettes, he stormed Fiat and fired most senior executives, then did the same at Chrysler in 2009, installing a dozen new arriving on the second day.
He also knew that speed could be dangerous. In 2007, he destroyed a $ 350,000 Ferrari on a highway in Switzerland. "In the automotive sector, you can break down," he said. Yet, even though he was criticized by politicians and unions for slashing jobs and cutting costs, Marchionne argued that moving slowly could be even more risky. When he took over both Fiat and Chrysler, he always maintained, companies needed radical change to survive.

Push Consolidation

The Chrysler Accord was part of a longstanding campaign that Marchionne had been conducting to encourage consolidation. the auto industry, which he said had too much ability for all players to survive. To that end, he publicly campaigned for a merger with General Motors Co. in 2015, but was rebuffed by the US automaker.

Marchionne had planned to leave Fiat in 2019, but with his health deteriorating he was replaced on 21 July. CEO of Fiat Chrysler by Mike Manley, Head of Jeep and Ram Brands. Louis C. Camilleri succeeded Ferrari, and Suzanne Heywood succeeded Marchionne as president of the truck and farm equipment manufacturer CNH Industrial NV

Marchionne was born June 17, 1952 in Chieti, a city at the top from a hill near the Adriatic Sea. Central Italy. His father was a local policeman and when Marchionne was 14, his family moved to Toronto.

A chartered accountant and dual Canadian and Italian lawyer, Mr. Marchionne began his career in Canada at Deloitte & Touche, before moving to the Lawson Group packaging group. In 1994, Marchionne joined Alusuisse Lonza Group SA after the acquisition of Lawson by the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical company

Three years later, as CEO of Alusuisse, he created Lonza Group AG, where he tripled the profit in three years. Later, he consolidated his reputation as a turnaround specialist at SGS SA, a Geneva-based product testing company owned by the Agnelli family at the time.

Marchionne and his ex-wife, Orlandina, had two children, Alessio and Jonathan His current partner, Manuela Battezzato, works at the Fiat Chrysler press office

– With the help of Steven Gittelson