Marchionne leaves FCA command for a serious health problem

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Marchionne Leaves FCA Command for a Serious Health Problem

Marchionne last June, when analysts were presented with FCA's 2018-2022 five-year plan: succession should be rushed

Career
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07/22/2018
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3:44 pm

The company was to precipitate the succession. Mike Manley, Chief of Jeep and Ram, has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer



PEDRO KUTNEY, AB

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Nothing seems conventional in the life of one of the most famous CEOs of the automotive industry in the world. After 14 years of command, Sergio Marchionne 66 years old, was betrayed by serious health problems and forced to abruptly leave the post of CEO of FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), that he created in 2014 after saving the two groups that name the company from bankruptcy. After learning that Marchionne could no longer return to work, faced with a deterioration of his condition while he was recovering from an operation at the shoulder, the board of directors of FCA meets in a hurry Saturday 21 Mike Manley, 54, formerly director of operations of the brands Jeep and Ram, who takes the new position immediately.

Unconfirmed information by FCA or family, reported in the European press on Sunday, 22 March, indicates that Marchionne is hospitalized in a deep coma in a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland due to complications after surgery on the right shoulder. But it is speculated that the executive has a more serious invasive disease than recently discovered. In a statement released Saturday, FCA reported: "Over the past week, unexpected complications have occurred while Marchionne was recovering from a surgical procedure, which has worsened significantly in the past few hours therefore, Marchionne will be unable to return to work. "

The last public appearance of the executive was late June. Marchionne celebrated what he calls the "best business moment" by presenting analysts and the press in Balloco, Italy with the new five-year plan 2018-2022, which calls for investments (45 billion euros), the clearance of heavy debts and the increase in profits of FCA (read here ).

At the time, many expected Marchionne 's successor to be formally announced as CEO early in the year 2019, but the executive said that this n & #' s It was not the time to discuss the subject: "Since 2004 Fiat Group Command of the time) I do not remember when this company was so good, and the 2022 plan we present today is very good, it will make FCA one of the best and most coveted companies in the global auto industry.As a shareholder, I want to be here to see that, "he said. said, noting that he was not on his plans to leave quickly.

But the succession plan was already ready, as evidenced by the quick appointment of the new director general, confirmed in the statement of the company on the decision: "The board of directors of the company decided to speed up the process of tran his CEO. procedure in recent months and appoints Mike Manley to the position of CEO. His name will be proposed for confirmation at the shareholders' meeting in the coming days, "says the note.


On the eve of the Jeep over the last 10 years, Manley has taken precedence successively after significantly increasing the global relevance of the American brand, which since the creation of the FCA in 2014 has doubled its volume of global sales from 730,000 units in 2013 to 1.9 million this year. Today, the Jeep is the most profitable division of the group and in the coming years will experience the greatest renewal and diversification of models between FCA brands.

John Elkann, great-grandson of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli, today president of the FCA, addressed the employees a letter in which he praises the legacy of overtaking and rebuilding that Marchionne leaves to his family.

"For 14 years, first at Fiat, then at Chrysler and finally at FCA, Sergio was the best CEO we could have hoped for, and for me a real mentor and a dear friend. Is thanks to his perseverance and leadership that we have managed to save the business.He taught us to think differently and to have the courage to change, often unconventionally, always acting with a sense Responsibilities for the company and its employees He taught that the only question that matters at the end of each day is how we can change something for the better, how we made a difference. always made the difference, "said Elkann.

Marchionne took command of the Fiat Group in 2004, when the company recorded losses of the order of $ 8 billion. Through a bold financial management plan, the Italian-Canadian executive has managed to promote profound changes and pursue one of the most important takeovers in the history of the automotive industry. In another bold move in 2009, Fiat took control of the Chrysler Group on the brink of bankruptcy. He achieved another success and in 2014 promoted the total merger of the company with the creation of FCA – and proved that the US manufacturer had valuable brands that now support the company.

The executive has developed a plan to separate certain companies from the Fiat group to increase the value of different blocks. Before the founding of the FCA, in March 2010 Marchionne separated from the group and transformed into an independent company the divisions of trucks and buses (Iveco), diesel engines (FPT) and agricultural and road machinery (Case and New Holland) Industrial – of which Machionne was also the global CEO and will now be replaced by the British Suzanne Heyywood.

After leaving FCA's command in 2019 as planned, Marchionne intended to remain the CEO of Ferrari, another division he had separated from the group two years ago. "I'm going to be a very busy person," he said. Now, the position will be assumed by Louis Camilleri and John Elkann will be the chair of the board.

Earlier last June, when he announced CFA plans for the next five years and asked how the program could be implemented without the command of his mentor, Marchionne replied that he believed in inheritance to overcome his successor, even without knowing that he would leave so quickly the "regency" of his "company orchestra":

"What differentiates us, c & # 39; is that we are survivors. The origins of the FCA are people who have faced the most difficult situations in the last 10 years, at the risk of losing their dignity or their work … I do not need to leave a script or instructions because they would be temporary. Today, the FCA has a culture of adversary leaders and employees who operate today without scores. "

Tags: FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Sergio Marchionne, Mike Manley, Estate, CEO, President.

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