Marchionne.
It’s a name that will live on as a legend in the automotive industry.
The news that Sergio Marchionne died suddenly at 66 rocked the business world and in particular the automotive industry.
Tributes poured in from all around the globe for this dynamic global business leader. “He was a giant in the auto industry, a friend of the Italian-Canadian community, and a visionary in the corporate world. Sergio Marchionne’s death is a huge loss,” said Prime Minister Trudeau on Twitter.
A Globe and Mail article by auto industry reporter Greg Keenan aptly summed up his career: Sergio Marchionne: a visionary who left an indelible mark on the global auto industry.
Marchionne’s unconventional style and approach won him a fair share of fans and critics, but he seemed unconcerned by any of that. He seemed to thrive on taking on seemingly impossible business challenges — and wrestling them to the ground.
He was called many things in his career: visionary, turnaround specialist, Italy’s Margaret Thatcher, clear-headed, brutally outspoken, relentlessly focused, and “one of the prominent industrialists of the 21st century.”
That’s high praise, but it’s well earned.
Born in Italy in 1952, Marchionne moved to Toronto in 1966 where he earned a philosophy degree, a law degree and commerce and MBA degrees.
He had success leading several corporations, but Marchionne is best known for rescuing Fiat from the brink, and saving Chrysler from being wiped out in 2009. Saving two car companies is no mean feat.
During his appearance at the first CADA Summit event in 2013, President Barack Obama’s “Car Czar” Steven Rattner, credited Marchionne’s leadership as being the determining factor that tipped the scales in favour of the government giving Chrysler another chance. “He is really one of the most extraordinary managers I have met in my entire career,” said Rattner in an article in Canadian auto dealer. “We made a bet on Sergio as much as anything else.”
I had the pleasure of asking questions to Rattner at that event and also to Marchionne himself, after he delivered a keynote speech the following year at the 2014 CADA Summit in Toronto.
Marchionne delivered a great presentation, but it was in the question and answer session that followed, where you could really see his keen intellect at work, and his fearlessness in answering any of the tough questions thrown his way.
I remember Marchionne speaking fondly of his Canadian roots, and how much confidence he had in our manufacturing capabilities and our people. But he was also clear-headed about the challenges we face, and reminded our governments to always be measuring our ability to compete on a global scale.
I’ll close with Marchionne’s own words delivered to Canadian dealers at the CADA Summit. “Canada has many appealing aspects to offer, highly skilled workers and a fundamental
quality of life I miss almost daily. The future is full of promises, as long as all involved parties recognize the realities of competition go beyond natural boundaries.”
