The legendary CEO of Fiat Chrysler unexpectedly replaced after illness

The legendary boss of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne, was unexpectedly replaced this weekend after his health suddenly deteriorated rapidly.

Marchionne (66) was admitted to a Zurich hospital three weeks ago for what the FCA described as a shoulder operation. In recent days, his health has deteriorated considerably. The company did not give medical details.

After an emergency meeting on Saturday, Marchionne was succeeded as CEO by Mike Manley, a 54 year old Briton. This is the first time Fiat's CEO is a non-Italian.

Marchionne is a phenomenon, visually recognizable because since his appointment as CEO of Fiat in 2004, he still walks in a blue or black sweater. He managed to get the sick Fiat out of the red numbers; In 2004, the Fiat group recorded a loss of 1.5 billion euros, for a turnover of 47 billion. His mastery was the merger with Chrysler, in 2009. When Chrysler went bankrupt in 2009, he was able to get approval for a special deal after tough negotiations with US unions: 20% of Chrysler shares in exchange of knowledge and technology of the Italian car manufacturer.

Marchionne rearranged the different parts of the Fiat Group and Chrysler. He has headed not only FCA, but also the CNH Group for Agricultural and Excavation Machinery, and Ferrari. Together, these three companies made a profit of 4.4 billion euros in 2017, with a turnover of 141 billion. (NRC)