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They could be country presidents or some of the most elated businessmen in the world. No matter who he was, Sergio Marchionne the former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) who died today after complications in surgery, still wore a black sweater . Neither bag nor tie.
It was not fashion but a symbol. The visual mark of a particular style that allowed him to save from the worst chasm Fiat merged it with an American monster like Chrysler and returned it to great leagues
He died today in a clinic in Switzerland where he was irreversible coma after an operation in the shoulder. He had 66 years and although various Italian media were talking about a sarcoma (malignant tumor), until now there was no official medical party .
"He was a genius, a magician He had good ideas that he made.In the beginning, they seemed impossible and soon put into practice," recalls Cristiano Rattazzi head of FCA Argentina, before the consultation of TN Autos .
For the businessman, it was a question of single CEO "Everyone was waiting for him a genius after the other . He had an extraordinary depth of badysis in the knowledge of the people, and a great affection for Argentina . "
He was born in Chieti , in Italy, in 1952, but since his adolescence he lived in Canada Bachelor in philosophy, economics and law, when he arrived at Fiat in 2004, the Italian brand lost two million Euros per day and General Motors (GM) valued his purchase.
It was Umberto Agnelli himself (from the historic family that owns Fiat) who named him CEO But without experience in the automotive sector, he was perceived internally with suspicion. was Marchionne .
The construction of a colossus
His first milestone entrepreneurial was to get GM, with whom they had an agreement, stop buying Fiat . convinced that it was to acquire a large debt. Not only that, but for not having bought the American had to pay him 1,500 million euros .
After, the banks. The risk that the company fell into the hands of the creditors was real, and Marchionne managed to dominate this danger too.
And finally, the unthinkable. Fiat automobile and Italian automobile par excellence, started in 2009 the process of acquisition of 100% of Chrysler (culminated in 2014), the 39, one of the big three of Detroit and the paradigm of the American automaker.
To graph the ability of Marchionne during the negotiations, in the corridors of the FCA, we usually remember a dialogue.
– How much do they intend to pay? -they said the Americans asked questions about the proposal.
– Us? Zero, nothing responded Marchionne, who negotiated, in return, the construction of factories, the transfer of technology and other commitments
Marchionne, who exercised an implacable leadership that it was not uncommon to lead to collide with the unions will also remember him as the refounder of Ferrari . In 2014, he took over the house of Maranello, which was going through serious difficulties.
was separated from Fiat as a corporation (began trading on the stock market) and recovered shares that were owned by investors. In the first quarter of 2018, the Cavallino company increased its profits by more than 19% over the previous year.
The legacy of Marchionne, which is at the same time the great transformation of the old Fiat, is that it was divided into three groups all under family control Agnelli: FCA (regrouping the Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Maserati and RAM brands), Ferrari and CNH Industrial (industrial and agricultural vehicles .)
A close link with Argentina
Argentina has always had a certain closeness. Direct promotion of the construction of the CNH plant in Cordoba, and approval of the local production of the Fiat Cronos at the Ferreyra factory in Cordoba, a project requiring a investment of 500 million.
Those who accompanied him during his last visit to the country who was a lover of art and Astor Piazzolla in particular. Despite his busy schedule, he took the time to go to to listen to tango and was, they say, one of the last to leave.
With the president Mauricio Macri had a good affinity and last March had a cordial meeting, where everything was spoken in Italian.
After 14 years of leadership, Marchionne left a reinvented Fiat that must badume the impact of his surprise death . His successor as CEO is Mike Mantley until now at the head of the Jeep.
"Unfortunately, what we feared happened, Sergio, the man, the friend, left ," said John Elkann, world president of the FCA.
He is the one who appears in the photo In jest with Marchionne, he tries to tie a tie to the man who always wore a black sweater .
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