Ex-presidente da Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) e da Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne morreu nesta quarta-feira, 25, aos 66 anos. Ele estava internado em um hospital na cidade de Zurique (Suíça) desde o início do mês, quando fez uma cirurgia no ombro direito.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra praised his “remarkable legacy in the automotive industry.” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford called Marchionne “one of the most respected leaders in the industry whose creativity and bold determination helped to restore Chrysler to financial health and grow Fiat Chrysler into a profitable global automaker.”
A aquisição da Chrysler abriu seu apetite por transações complexas e de alto risco. Em 2009, Marchionne obteve o apoio do presidente americano Barack Obama, que entregou à Fiat uma participação acionária de 20% na problemática montadora americana, em lugar de permitir sua falência.
It was Marchionne's success in turning around a pair of Swiss businesses that drew the attention of the Agnelli family. He joined Fiat's board in May 2003, four months after the death of Gianni Agnelli. He became CEO in June 2004, following the death of Gianni Agnelli's brother, Umberto, Fiat's chairman, leaving a family void in the company.
Marchionne's penchant for numbers was always clear in his attentive quarterly presentations. He let his real satisfaction show during the June 2018 presentation when he announced the company had reached zero debt, by donning a necktie for the first time in a decade — albeit briefly.
"Populismo é só uma palavra que banqueiros usam para jogar a culpa nos outros", recorda um executivo que o encontrou três semanas atrás de ouvir Marchionne dizer. Fã de música, apaixonado por jazz, ópera e Bruce Springsteen, ele certa vez recorreu a um verso de Springsteen para definir a situação da Fiat em uma reunião com analistas: "a meio caminho do céu e mal saídos do inferno".
His most quoted presentation to analysts, titled “Confessions of a Capital Junkie,” argued that consolidation was inevitable in the investment-heavy car industry. But though he tried for another merger with General Motors, talks never led to a deal. Still, newspaper photographs of a chain-smoking Marchionne awaiting talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel outside the Chancellery in Berlin on the role of GM’s then-subsidiary, Opel, made clear just how personally he took the negotiations.
No plano pessoal, Marchionne era muito consciente do estrago causado pela globalização. Em uma reunião privada com líderes empresariais americanos e italianos em Veneza, dois anos atrás, ele desafiou o primeiro-ministro italiano Mario Monti, chocando-o e o colocando na defensiva, ao questioná-lo sobre a surdez de Bruxelas diante das preocupações das pessoas comuns.
The Italian-Canadian had planned to step down after first-quarter earnings next year, but the transition was accelerated after the company announced that the complications, which it did not detail, would prevent his return. He also was replaced as CEO of sportscar maker Ferrari and heavy truck and equipment maker CNH Industrial.
"Não há nada de nobre em ser superior aos demais seres humanos; a verdadeira nobreza está em superar o seu eu passado", disse Marchionne, citando Ernest Hemingway, o clássico escritor macho alfa.
His most quoted presentation to analysts, titled "Confessions of a Capital Junkie," argued that consolidation was inevitable in the investment-heavy car industry. But though he tried for another merger with General Motors, talks never led to a deal. Still, newspaper photographs of a chain-smoking Marchionne awaiting talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel outside the Chancellery in Berlin on the role of GM's then-subsidiary, Opel, made clear just how personally he took the negotiations.
MILAN — Sergio Marchionne, a charismatic and demanding CEO who engineered two long-shot corporate turnarounds to save carmakers Fiat and Chrysler from near-certain failure, died Wednesday. He was 66.
The manager, known for his folksy, colorful turns of phrase and for his dark cashmere sweaters no matter the occasion, was the darling of the automotive analyst community. Even when expressing doubts at his audacious targets, they showed admiration for his adept deal-making. That included getting General Motors to pay $2 billion to sever ties with Fiat, key to relaunching the long-struggling Italian brand, and the deal with the U.S. government to take Chrysler without a penny down in exchange for Fiat’s small-car technology.
Marchionne jamais perdeu o apetite pela próxima transação ousada - e quanto mais complicada melhor; desde o começo, se retratou como um sujeito original, disposto a fazer o inesperado, o que incluía sua rejeição aos tradicionais ternos dos executivo, substituídos por macacões e camisas sociais, Ele costumava dizer que se vestir de um jeito mais simples o ajudava a poupar tempo de manhã.
He had never indicated plans for Ferrari or CNH, leaving many to speculate that the tireless manager known for his short sleep cycles and globe-trotting style would use those positions to keep a foothold in the automotive world.
Marchionne had always insisted that his successor would come from inside — so it was no surprise when British manager Mike Manley, who helped boost Jeep to global success and get Fiat a foothold in Asia, was named CEO.
His next major move was to be the presentation of a new business plan in September for Ferrari, which he aimed to turn into a luxury company beyond just cars to further boost earnings.
While he started small with limited industrial alliances, his ambitions soon grew. The bankruptcy of Chrysler gave him the opportunity to create a global car company with brands including Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati that he envisioned would grow to 6 million cars a year. A global economic crisis that bottomed out car sales in key U.S. and European markets prevented him from reaching that goal, but his industrial vision never faltered as he spun off CNH and Ferrari into stand-alone entities.
Dois meses atrás, no que se esperava fosse sua reunião final com os investidores da Fiat Chrysler antes da aposentadoria, ele alertou sobre a necessidade de o setor confrontar a ameaça dos carros autoguiados e da eletrificação.