A seasoned veteran of the automobile world, Sergio Marchionne, has met his demise in a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. Marchionne, who has served as CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and as CEO and Chairman of Ferrari, was 66 when he died due to a complication during surgery.
John Elkann the Chairman of EXOR – a company that supports FCA financially – confirmed the death of Sergio Marchionne. “Unfortunately, what we feared has come to pass. Sergio Marchionne, man, and friend is gone,” Elkann said in a statement. “My family and I will be forever grateful for what he has done.”
Marchionne was on his way to step down as CEO of Fiat Chrysler next year but he was going to retain his position as Chairman in Ferrari. However, due to his bad health, the board of directors in both companies immediately replaced him. FCA appointed Mike Manley as the new CEO while Ferrari promoted Elkann as the Chairman and Louis C. Camilleri as CEO.
Sergio Marchionne came in as CEO of Fiat soon after he moved up to the board of directors in 2003. Since then the genius made a few important decisions such as the merger of Fiat with Chrysler in 2009 and turned the business toward profitability.
The Italian was born on June 17, 1952. He leaves behind his wife Manuela and two sons, Alessio and Jonathan.