Fiat News: Sergio Marchionne: 1952-2018

[William Maley]

Sergio Marchionne, the former head of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles who is credited for saving Chrysler and Fiat has passed away today at age 66 due to complications from shoulder surgery. 

“Unfortunately, what we feared has come to pass. Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone,” said FCA Chairman John Elkann in a statement this morning.

Marchionne came into the spotlight back in 2004 when he was named CEO of Fiat. He was Fiat's fifth CEO in less than two years and had a big task ahead of him. The Italian automaker was struggling as it had lost more than 6 billion Euros (about $7 billion) the year before. Marchionne was somehow able to pull Fiat from the brink by closing various plants, laying off thousand of workers, getting a $2 billion payment from General Motors to settle past contractual obligation, and expanding the company's car lineup. It worked as Fiat would become profitable a year later.

In 2009, Marchionne led Fiat to acquire a 20 percent stake into beleaguered Chrysler following the 2008 financial crisis. Only a few years later, Fiat would buy up the rest of Chrysler and become Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. He would oversee the reinvention of Alfa Romeo, expand Jeep into other markets, and spin off Ferrari into its own separate company. Other parts of FCA haven't quite worked out, most notably Chrysler and Dodge which has seen both of their lineups shrink.

Marchionne was not like your normal CEO. He was known for wearing black pullover sweaters and jeans which made him stand out at various events. Marchionne was also known for being direct and speaking his mind (for better or worse).

Next April, Marchionne was planning to step down as CEO and announce his replacement. But health complications over the weekend caused FCA to decide his successor. That person would be Mike Manley, head of Jeep and Ram Trucks.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Bloomberg, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

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[smk4565]

He did save this company, I still think FCA is in trouble, but they would be been out of business without him.  66 is pretty young, so that is a shame he passed so early.

Interesting year ahead for FCA without Sergio and the COO that stepped down.

[riviera74]

Yes, Sergio was effective for FIAT and Alfa Romeo.  His successor will have to fix/save Chrysler and Dodge.   Thoughts and prayers and condolences to his family for their loss.

[David]

RIP, wishing the best to his partner and their two sons.

Be interesting to see what the official cause of death is.

[ccap41]

Damn, seems so sudden. I hope all is well with his family... 

[Drew Dowdell]

Condolences to his family.  I wonder what the cause was.

[David]

23 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Damn, seems so sudden. I hope all is well with his family... 

Agree, very sudden,, but then if rumors are correct that it was an embolism caused by the risky surgery, then this was to be expected.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20180724/OEM02/180729864/sergio-marchionne-embolism-cancer-surgery-italian-report?AID=%2F20180724%2FOEM02%2F180729864

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/marchionne-suffered-embolism-during-cancer-surgery

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/sergio-marchionne-ceo-who-steered-fiat-chrysler-dead-at-66

 

[regfootball]

Godspeed.

 

Coincidentally his passing July 25 is 3 years anniversary of my father's passing; same date.

 

Despite what is perhaps occuring with the bones of Chrysler, you can say he made things happen and was a great person in the auto field.

[David]

Seems like he might have passed on July 23rd as various news outlets state the hospital put him on life support to allow his family to get to the hospital. Once his partner and sons where there, they turned off the machines.

SAD and I wish the best for a recovery of his family.

[daves87rs]

So sad. sending condolences to his family.

He may have done some crazy things, but he really did change the car industry......