A three-way race is looming for the succession to Sergio Marchionne at the helm of FCA. Two weeks after the awaited Investor Day, during which the number one of the Lingotto will clarify - for the last time before closing his experience in Fiat Chrysler – the programs of the group that will have to deal with electric mobility and clarify the Magneti Marelli spin-off, the greatest expectation is concentrated precisely on Marchionne's successor. Who will take his place? In all likelihood it will be a three-way race and it will be an internal succession, as Marchionne himself has already anticipated.
The choice of the dolphin is not yet defined, but apparently there are three most accredited names to get on the FCA dashboard: Altavilla, Manley and Palmer. Alfredo Altavilla, Italian, 55, is the chief operating officer for Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EMEA). Mike Manley, Scottish-born and 56 years old, currently manages the Jeep and Ram brands, sales strengths of the group. Richard Palmer, English, 52, is the group's chief financial officer.
Arriving at Fiat in 2004 in full crisis, Marchionne leaves a completely different group: the restructuring, the leap forward with the acquisition of Chrysler in 2009, the all-round relaunch with the spin-off and the listing of Ferrari, the stock that on the Stock Exchange it went from 4,19 euros on 21 May 2013 to 19,2 on Monday 21 May 2018. A revaluation of 358 percent. A trend that hasn't ended, far from it. At Piazza Affari, expectation and attention to FCA is growing, also in light of the rumors circulating in recent days according to which the group is studying the transfer of production of mass models abroad, with the Italian plants that should concentrate on vehicles premiums such as Jeeps and Maseratis.
Marchionne will leave, he has said several times, in 2019. The circle is therefore tightening around the shortlist of candidates that the CEO is following in person but on which the shareholder will also give his opinion, as is obvious, or John Elkann. It will therefore be Alfredo Altavilla, who joined Fiat in 1999 and remained there covering all the areas of the group far and wide, or it will be the Anglo-Saxon-style managers who will climb the top step. The wait to know the final verdict is now short.
