The alliance between Chrysler and Fiat "is based on opportunities that help both parties, allowing us to reduce risks". Sergio Marchionne speaks from New York, at the Public Library, while receiving the Dwight D. Eisenhauer Global Leadership Award promoted by the Business Council for International Understanding.
The vision of the Italian-Canadian manager on the marriage between the two car manufacturers is clear: the success of the wedding will depend on how much the two companies are able to "work together in a humble way by listening, sharing experiences, knowledge and ideas and broadening horizons". A question of "mutual respect", in short, and which saw Marchionne and the unions of the United Auto Workers, present in the room, united in the same responsibility of restoring Chrysler: "Friends - Marchionne said - with whom I shared the responsibility of bringing Chrysler back alive".
The Lingotto manager then reconstructed his experience at the helm of the Fiat group (-0,53% in the Fiat Spa Stock Exchange) defining it "a journey that took numerous unpredictable and unexpected paths and which created the conditions for giving life to the fifth house automotive world". But that still leaves no room to let our guard down: "It is a work still in progress, the group is still in its infancy and we must make every effort to complete this integration with humility, determination and rigor", he underlined, recalling the commitment of those who worked to restore credibility to the group.
The ceremony was also attended by the president of Fiat John Elkann who eight years ago asked the Italian-Canadian manager to come on board Fiat. Marchionne recalled: ”Almost eight years ago John and I shared several grappas during a dinner in a charming restaurant in Geneva, which overlooked Lake Leman. It was then that John asked me to help him with Fiat”.
