FCA’s Sergio Marchionne Could Be The New CEO of Ferrari
Sergio Marchionne could be the next CEO of Ferrari. With current chief executive officer Amedo Felisa expected to retire within a few months Ferrari is considering Marchionne for the top executive role. Merchionne, who is already CEO of FCA, Ferrari’s parent company, would have control of the exotic vehicle division before it’s spun off in 2016.
If Marchionne takes over at Ferrari in addition to already leading FCA, how will that impact Fiat Chrysler Automobiles? What could being the CEO of Ferrari mean for Marchionne’s stated goal of a partnership? Marchionne has made major news headlines for his overt desire to strike up a partnership with another major automakers. However, numerous pundits have stated Marchionne has had little success, citing the large debt pile and other issues facing FCA. Nonetheless, Marchionne has made no secret of his intent to forge a partnership with another automaker, especially GM, before his exit from FCA in 2018.
If Marchionne is suddenly in charge of Ferrari it will be interesting to see how his goal of a partnership plays out. What kind of bandwidth will Marchionne have to give to both FCA’s growth and Ferrari before its spinoff? Time considerations aside, one auto industry expert feels that Marchionne could be just what the doctor ordered for Ferrari.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Erik Gordon, professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan weighed in on the Marchionne to Ferrari rumor. Gordon told Bloomberg via email that Marchionne, “has the ego, the confidence and possibly even the ability to add the Ferrari CEO position. The norm means nothing to him.” Certainly Marchionne brushing aside “the norm” is nothing new. The FCA CEO has spoken hightly of Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and there are still rumblings FCA and Tesla Motors could forge some sort of partnership down the road. Certainly, a traditional automaker partnering with direct-to-consumer-sales Tesla would definitely defy the norm.
If Marchionne does make the move to CEO of both FCA and Ferrari, he won’t be a pioneer. Carlos Ghosen, CEO of Nissan, is also CEO of Renault SA. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler, is equally CEO of the Mercedes-Benz division.
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About the Author: Dave Martinson
Dave Martinson is a broadcast journalist for DrivingSalesNews. He has a background as a TV News Reporter, Anchor and Producer. He has also worked in Digital Marketing and Human Resources. He received his bachelor's degree in Communication from Brigham Young University – Idaho. He's married and originally from the state of Washington. He's a huge football fan and enjoys the outdoors.
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