Sergio Marchionne: Famous auto industry CEO who saved Fiat and Chrysler from bankruptcy.

Fiat Chrysler said on Saturday that Marchionne, who underwent surgery on his right shoulder, had weakened due to “unforeseen complications”.

Company executives met at the weekend to replace Marchionne with Mike Manley, head of the group’s affiliated Jeep brand.

Fiat Chrysler President John Elkann announced Wednesday that Marchionne had died in hospital. “Unfortunately, what we feared has come true. Sergio is gone,” he said.

The exact cause of Sergio Marchionne’s death was not made public.

Born in Chieti in 1952, Marchionne moved to Canada with his family when he was 13. He became an Italian and Canadian citizen.

Educated in Canada, Marchionne worked as an accountant and tax specialist, then worked as a manager in various companies.

In 2002, Marchionne became the CEO of SGS Group, the Swiss company of the Italian Agnelli family. He gained the appreciation of the Agnelli family and his work here and was transferred to Fiat, which was owned by the same family. When he became the CEO of Fiat in 2004, he had no experience in the automotive industry.

Fiat, which was on the verge of bankruptcy before Sergio Marchionne, had changed its CEO 4 times in the last 3 years. Marchionne, on the other hand, saved the company in distress, managing Fiat for 14 years.

“Imagine that you are the fifth person to come back in 2004 to revive a company that many saw as a cadre,” Marchionne said of the concerns he had when he took over as Fiat CEO in 2008.

Marchionne was painting an unusual picture with his preference for wearing a sweater over a shirt, far from the usual executive style of jacket and tie. Those who know him well describe him as “hard working and talkative”.

It is also known that Marchionne spends most of his time on the plane for business trips.

After news of Marchionne’s death was announced on Wednesday, messages of condolence began pouring in from around the world.

Many names, from Italian President Sergio Mattarella to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to world leaders in the automotive and technology sectors, remembered Marchionne with congratulatory messages.

When Trudeau called Marchionne “the giant of the automotive industry”, Mattarella said that “Marchionne wrote a very important page in the history of the Italian industry” for him.

The world media also reported the death of Marchionne, “The fearless savior of Fiat” (Financial Times), “The legend of the modern car industry is dead” (Business Insider), “Sergio Marchionne, who revived Fiat and Chrysler, dies at 66” (New. York City) Times) announced with headlines such as.