Exactly 14 years after its inception, the era of Sergio Marchionne at the helm of Fiat first and then FCA and Ferrari ends with a bolt from the blue. His succession was expected for next year in FCA, but not in Ferrari, which was to constitute his retreat capable of satisfying both his sporting passion (Vettel dedicated his pole at the Formula 1 German GP to him) than that for the incessant technological innovation of the Red Maranello. And this was precisely the signal – together with the emergency convocation of the board of directors of FCA and CNH as well as of Ferrari – that Marchionne's health conditions had become irrecoverable. The situation worsened in a few days. After the presentation of FCA's new industrial plan at the Balocco in early June, the Italian-Canadian supermanager's last public outing was at the end of last month for the delivery of the new Jeep to the Carabinieri. Then hospitalization at the University Hospital of Zurich for surgery on his right shoulder which had been aching for some time, but the operation was only the beginning of the ordeal which forced him to immediately give up all his managerial duties.
Thus the curtain falls on the Marchionne era, which ended in dramatic conditions as it had begun, when, fulfilling the wishes of Umberto Agnelli, who had disappeared a few days earlier and who had the great merit of having discovered Marchionne and his managerial, the board of Fiat had called the Italian-Canadian manager at the helm of the Turin automaker. When Marchionne (66 years old, emigrated to Canada as a child, three degrees, the first in Philosophy and then in Law and Economics) took it in hand, Fiat was technically bankrupt and no one would bet a penny on his future. In 14 years of tireless work (even 20 hours a day, including Saturdays and Sundays, with the physical exhaustion of many of his collaborators) but also as an enlightened and charismatic guide and a forward-looking vision and great achievements, Marchionne not only he saved Fiat, but merged it with Chrysler, relaunching it and making it the seventh automotive group in the world, ready to get married again. “Marchionne – rightly said Jonh Elkann – taught us to think differently”.
For this reason, on the very day it ended, the Marchionne era entered history as an unforgettable stage for the Agnelli family car manufacturer. And he enters it not only because the supermanager with the blue sweater was able to save Fiat from bankruptcy and relaunch it, transforming it into a large international group through his marriage with the American Chrysler which earned him the public praise of President Obama and ultimately the appreciation of Trump. But also because in 14 years Marchionne has generated the beauty of 15 billion in profits and saved, unlike other car manufacturers, all jobs in all FCA Italian plants with an innovative trade union policy, despite the misunderstandings of a part of the union and the deafness of the business class itself which led it to controversially quit Confindustria.
Marchionne's work is not finished and will touch to his successor Mike Manley, the industrial protagonist of the successful Jeep brand that has taken up the baton, carry it forward by identifying the right partnership with which to face the challenges of the future, from electric cars to self-driving cars. But Manley will be able to do it in the wake of the latest miracle performed by Marchionne and that is the cancellation of the debts of the group, which led the Italian-Canadian supermanager to honor the bet made with John Elkann by wearing a tie after a very long time, while confessing that he no longer knows how to tie a knot.
The other ingenious intuition of Marchionne was the metamorphosis of the group which from the mass market, less and less profitable, gradually repositioned on the Premium segment not only with the Ferrari but also with Maserati e Alfa Romeo. For this reason, not only the Agnelli family, all the shareholders and all the workers of the group, but the whole of Italy should never stop recognizing and applauding Sergio Marchionne's qualities as an incomparable leader. "With him - rightly says Marco Bentivogli, the leader of the Fim Cisl who was not afraid to make innovative agreements with Marchionne despite the excommunications of the Fiom - we challenged the Italy of rent and blackmail". It was just like that and the facts say that it was really worth it, even if many didn't understand it.
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