Revived Fiat and Chrysler
Sergio Marchionne, the executive who pulled two ailing carmakers from the brink of collapse and led the improbable transformation of Fiat Chrysler into an automotive giant, died Wednesday in Zurich. He was 66.
John Elkann, the chairman and chief executive of Exor, the holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, which founded Fiat in 1899, announced the death in a statement.
Mr. Marchionne had been incapacitated about three weeks ago by sudden complications of shoulder surgery, which he had undergone in Zurich. He was reportedly later put on life support. After Fiat Chrysler announced that he would be “unable to return to work,” the company hastily appointed a successor last weekend.
“Unfortunately, what we feared has come to pass,” Mr. Elkann said Wednesday. “Sergio Marchionne, manand friend, is gone.”
Mr. Marchionne took over Fiat, in Turin, Italy, in 2004 and spearheaded the acquisition of Chrysler in 2009. On both occasions, the businesses were near low ebbs and few gave him any chance of success. But he defied those gloomy predictions. Today, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ferrari, which was spun off during Mr. Marchionne’s tenure, are worth nearly 10 times as much as they were when he took over.
An Italian-born Canadian, Mr. Marchionne had a reputation as a chain-smoking workaholic, one who forged his career as a tax consultant before moving on to a metals-trading firm and a trade services company.
His legacy was defined, however, by his work in the automotive industry. When he was hired by the Agnelli family to run the company, it was faltering and they charged him with reversing its long decline.
Acting quickly, he dismissed several executives, pared back production levels to meet demand and eliminated some slow-selling models. Before long, Mr. Marchionne became closely watched as one of the fastestmoving chief executives in theauto industry.
He also had a quirky side. At news conferences, he entertained reporters with answers peppered with references to philosophers, pop music and ancient history. He once gave a commencement speech at the University of Toledo, in Ohio, that quoted Nelson Mandela and Albert Einstein while lauding the city’s long association with Fiat’s Jeep brand.
In 2006, he arrived at a meeting wearing a black sweater and black jeans; deciding that he liked not having to think about his wardrobe, he stuck with that look for years. His business acumen was also repeatedly on display. Soon after becoming chief executive, he took advantage of an existing deal between General Motors and Fiat to attempt to force GM to buy the Italian carmaker, a move GM had no desire to make. In a highstakes game of corporate poker, Mr. Marchionne compelled GM to pay Fiat $2 billion to end their alliance and used the money to develop new models, including the Fiat 500, a small car that became a hit in Europe.
But his decision to drive a hard bargain for Chrysler in 2009 may be the one that defined his career.
As the Treasury Department in Washington hastened to prevent the collapse of much of the U.S. auto industry in the wake of the financial crisis, Mr. Marchionne stepped forward with an audacious offer. Fiat would take control of Chrysler, the sickest of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, and provide cars and technology to revive it.
There was a catch, however: The government would have to hand Chrysler over to Fiat free of charge.
It was a hardball offer typical of Mr. Marchionne. But he knew that the Treasury, as well as Chrysler’s creditors and its labor union, had little room to negotiate. It was the beginning of one of the most remarkable rescues in the auto industry.