Resurrected FiatChrysler through sheer force of will
SERGIO Marchionne, a charismatic, gruff and demanding chief executive who engineered two longshot corporate turnarounds to save carmakers Fiat and Chrysler from nearcertain failure, died on Wednesday. He was 66.
The holding company of Fiat’s founders, the Agnelli family, announced Marchionne had died after unexpected complications from surgery in Zurich. That came days after a deterioration in his health led the company to hastily appoint a successor.
At Fiat Chrysler Automobiles headquarters in the Italian city of Turin, corporate flags flew at halfmast, while inside the building, Marchionne’s successor led a minute of silence ahead of an earnings presentation. Workers at a plant near Naples that Marchionne had brought back to life halted production for 10 minutes in tribute.
The news agency Ansa reported the cause of death as cardiac arrest. He suffered one while recovering from shoulder surgery late last month, landing him in intensive care, followed by a second, fatal event. Fiat Chrysler declined to comment, citing privacy issues.
Marchionne turned around the dysfunctional Fiat and Chrysler, merging them into the world’s seventhlargest carmaker, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, almost by personal force of will, living on a corporate jet crossing the
Atlantic to push employees to accomplish what most people thought was impossible amid a devastating global recession.
Marchionne, who was born in Italy and emigrated to Canada at age 14, had revived Fiat by 2009 when he was picked by the US government to save USbased Chrysler from its trip through bankruptcy protection after being owned by a private equity company.
Marchionne met most of his goals, even though at times he was doubted by nearly everyone in the automobile business. But he didn’t live long enough to complete his last two: personally hand over the reins of Fiat Chrysler to a handpicked protege and lay out plans for transforming supercar maker Ferrari.
The manager, known for his folksy, colourful turns of phrase and for his dark cashmere sweaters no matter the occasion, was the darling of the automotive analyst community. Even when expressing doubts at his audacious targets, they showed admiration for his adept dealmaking. — AP