Because of medical issues, Marchionne has to give up his positions as CEO and Chairman as of today. He has been absent for a couple of weeks after suffering from surgery-complications.
Mike Manley, former CEO of Ram and Jeep, both FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) brands, will replace Marchionne as the CEO of the FCA. John Elkann and Louis Camilleri, both already employed by Ferrari, will replace him as Chairman and CEO, respectively, of Ferrari. All with immediate effect.
FCA mentioned in a statement that ‘’unexpected complications arose while Mr. Marchionne was recovering from surgery and that these have worsened significantly in recent hours.’’ and ‘’As a consequence, Mr. Marchionne will be unable to return to work.’’
An entrepreneur the automotive world needed
Marchionne was appointed CEO of the FCA in 2004 after been elected in May 2003. He grew out to be one of the most credential persons in the automotive world. He rescued Chrysler from going bankrupt in 2009 and set up a plan to make Ferrari even more profitable. He made an extraordinary contribution in the recent years at the helm of Ferrari.
He has also been quite controversial for the plan to boost the annual Ferrari production to 10.000 units. He also threatened to pull Ferrari out of the Formula 1 after 2020 if he didn’t saw the sport change the way he wanted it to be, mainly engine-wise.
Newly appointed Chairman and CEO
The new Chairman, John Elkann, studied at various universities and gained work experiences in a couple of Fiat Group companies. He worked in the factories, but also on the sales and marketing departments. In our opinion, it’s great to have a Chairman that knows what is going on at the several departments in the company.
The new CEO, Louis Camilleri, gained a lot of work experience as Chairman and CEO of PMI (Philip Morris International) and worked at Altria Group, Inc. since 1978 in various functions.
What a drastic change this will be for the Ferrari brand. Prayers for Sergio.
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