Even before today's board meeting, the divorce between the CEO of Fiat-Chrysler Sergio Marchionne and Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, number one of Ferrari, controlled by Lingotto, is official. Thus the Montezemolo era came to an end, who, as had been in the air for days, has left his office, taken on ad interim right from Marchionne.
The announcement came with a press release from Fiat Chrysler. The handover will formally take place on 13 October, which moreover represents the most probable date for the listing of the automotive group on Wall Street. Ways and times had already been agreed yesterday in Maranello.
"I would like to thank Luca on behalf of my family and personally for what he has done for Fiat and Ferrari", writes the president of Lingotto in the official note, John Elkann, referring to the decades that have passed since Montezemolo joined Ferrari in 1991: "My best wishes go to Luca for his professional and entrepreneurial future, with the hope, certainly shared, of soon seeing Ferrari win again".
The ad's message is of a different tone, Marchionne, who recalls the beginnings but also the recent misunderstandings that led to the breakup: “In 2003 Luca and I were appointed directors of Fiat on the same day – says Marchionne -. A year later, he became president and I became CEO. We worked together in the early years, sharing concerns, problems and successes”.
“Ferrari – said the now former number one instead Montezemolo – will play an important role within the FCA group in the next listing on Wall Street and therefore a new and different phase will open which I believe should be led by the group's CEO. An era is coming to an end and I have therefore decided to leave the Presidency after almost 23 wonderful and unforgettable years, after those spent alongside Enzo Ferrari in the XNUMXs”.
Meanwhile, the changeover seems to please the markets: the Fiat share immediately accelerated at the opening of the session in Piazza Affari, gaining more than two percentage points, to 7,775 euros.
