When was sergio marchionne named ceo of fiat

The firm was shepherded through bankruptcy by the Obama administration after officials initially considered allowing the company to go under. In , Fiat made a deal with Chrysler that queued up Fiat to become the primary stakeholder in the American company, and Marchionne was installed as CEO.

Under his leadership, the company eventually emerged as a debt-free, profitable global automaker. Marchionne defended the US government's involvement in keeping Chrysler afloat. He told CNN's Poppy Harlow in a interview that anyone who thinks Chrysler could have survived without that assistance was "smoking illegal material. He was also known to be open about his companies' failures. After the Dodge Caliber failed to catch on in the United States, Marchionne in faulted the design and called the vehicle an "abomination.

In , he urged customers not to buy the Fiat e electric car. Marchionne pushed to fully merge Chrysler with Fiat, brushing aside those who said the American and Italian brands would never work as a combined company. In , FCA sold 2 million vehicles in the United States, more than double its sales in the dark days of Globally, FCA sold 4.

Related: Plunging Fiat sales leave its American future in doubt. Last month, Marchionne wore a necktie for the first time in years at a Fiat Chrysler event in Italy. He talked about the company's strong financial performance. When he was 13, his family emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Marchione did not begin his career in the auto industry until , when he was elected as an independent member of the Board of Directors of Fiat.

In , he was elected CEO of Fiat. When he first took the helm at Fiat, the company was in turmoil. There were numerous leadership problems, too many layers of administration and slow communication. He was His health had declined suddenly following complications from a shoulder operation at a Zurich hospital, according to people familiar with the situation.

He replaced Giuseppe Morchio, who quit after the billionaire Agnelli family refused to give him the joint title of chairman and CEO when then-Chairman Umberto Agnelli died of cancer. In , U. He knew how to move fast and enjoyed driving his half-dozen Ferraris.

Fueled by a dozen espressos a day and packs of Muratti cigarettes, he stormed into Fiat and fired most of the top management, then did the same at Chrysler in , installing a dozen newcomers on his second day. He also knew speed can be dangerous. Yet even as he garnered criticism from politicians and unions for slashing jobs and cutting costs, Marchionne argued that moving slowly could be even more risky.