A decade without the lawyer. In 2003, Gianni Agnelli, the historic owner of Fiat, died and progenitor of the largest and best-known family of Italian industrialists: to celebrate the anniversary, explaining how to carry on a family business in the third millennium, was this morning at Bocconi by his nephew John Elkann, president of Fiat who in the last 10 years, together with CEO Sergio Marchionne, he has completely transformed.
“First of all – said Elkann addressing the audience of teachers and students – the results: in the decade 2003-2013 Giovanni Agnelli & C. went from a negative net financial position of 1 billion euro, to an asset of 1,5 billion. This mainly thanks to the internationalization in new continents: currently only 28% of turnover is generated in Europe, while ten years ago it was 75%". Not to mention the metamorphosis of Fiat, which more than tripled its turnover from 27 billion in 2004 to 84 in 2012 thanks to Chrysler's American breakthrough: 92% of business in Europe (44% in Italy) in 2004 , 54% of the business in North America in 2012 (Italy 9%).
“This, however – explains Elkann – has not prevented us from increasing jobs also in the old continent: currently the Fiat group has 215 employees worldwide, against 100 in 2012. Of these, 74 were in Europe, while now there are 89 more". However, they have decreased in Italy, going from about 38 to 25 in the space of 8 years. But apart from this painful aspect of its traditional factory, which however has allowed the exponential growth of the group and the safeguarding of its solidity, the history of the Agnelli family in the world continues to be a story of enormous success. “We have been in the business for 114 years, there are 250 of us, a hundred of whom work for the activities of Giovanni Agnelli & Co. , and Exor, the parent company, currently has 10 billion euros in assets. In all, we employ 290 people”.
Results in contrast even with those of the global market: since June 2003, the performance of Agnelli assets on the financial markets has marked a +133%, while the MSCI World Index has recorded a +65%. What else to add, if not the lawyer's words, which John Elkann is keen to recall at the end of the conference: “First force, then power, and finally vanity. For me, only these three things count”, says the nephew quoting his grandfather.
