The Awkward Captain Of Industry

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

“Whenever Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of carmakers Fiat and Chrysler, appears in public, television crews jostle to beam his words around the globe. Amid the push and shove it’s easy to miss the tall, curly-headed young man who often looks on from the sidelines.

He’s John Elkann. And he’s Marchionne’s boss.”“The 36-year-old Elkann is tall, blond and soft-spoken, given to awkward silences during conversations. Marchionne, 60, is rumpled, dark and tart-tongued, reveling in his super-star reputation for pulling Fiat from the brink of bankruptcy eight years ago.”

A fascinating Reuters report about who’s really boss at Fiat. Read it here.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Dman Dman on Nov 09, 2012

    Francesco Da Mosto interviewed Elkann in his BBC series Top to Toe. Seemed like a very down to earth fellow. In a role he did not expect to fill. He has done fairy well. I too am a big fan of Sergio. He strikes me as the kinda of guy I could drink and talk cars with for hours.

  • Ranwhenparked Ranwhenparked on Nov 09, 2012

    I didn't think this was news, the guy's been on the Fiat board in one capacity or another for nearly 15 years now. I heard a rumor once to the effect that after the untimely death of Umberto, the Agnelli family wasn't totally united in who should ultimately take over. John was the safe and most logical choice, but a certain faction wanted to see the Agnelli name itself continue at the helm, so his cousin cousin Andrea was also elected onto the board as sort of a Plan B.

  • Blowfish Blowfish on Nov 10, 2012

    i see Johnny is the capo de tutti cappi of Fix It Again Tony, i always thought Sergio is.

  • Blowfish Blowfish on Nov 10, 2012

    then without sergio FIAT could be in the same boat as costa concordia! Johnny better not to throttle him at all or be a quiet little lap dog. the big owners are the agnelli family, no different than FORD too.

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