Sergio Marchionne (born June 17, 1952 in Chieti, Italy) is a dual nationality Canadian and Italian businessman and has been CEO of the Fiat S.p.A. since June 1, 2004. In January 2006 he was also elected Chairman of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). He is the Chairman of SGS and a member of the Board of Directors of UBS. On February 21, 2008, the same board of directors of UBS appointed Marchionne as non-executive vice chairman.

He is a Cavaliere del Lavoro.

Marchionne, together with Fiat Group Chairman Luca di Montezemolo, returned Fiat's automobile division (Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.) to profitability in 2006. Together, they have been widely credited with the turnaround of the group into one of the fastest growing companies in the auto industry.

Marchionne has stated he is on "the list" for one of the limited run of 500 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

Biography

Born in Chieti, Abruzzo, Marchionne has dual Canadian and Italian citizenship. He is a barrister and solicitor, and Certified General Accountant. He is also a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. His undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Toronto. He went on to earn his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Windsor in 1980 and his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in 1983.

He began his professional career in Canada. From 1983 to 1985 he worked as a chartered accountant and tax specialist for Deloitte & Touche. From 1985 to 1988 he was Group Controller and then Director of Corporate Development at the Lawson Mardon Group in Toronto. In 1989 he moved to Glenex Industries where he worked for two years as Executive Vice President.

From 1990 to 1992 he was Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Acklands Ltd. Between 1992 to 1994, he became Vice President of Legal and Corporate Development and Chief Financial Officer of the Lawson Group, which was acquired by Alusuisse Lonza (Algroup) in 1994.

Between 1994 and 2000, he worked in Algroup (Alusuisse Lonza Group Limited) of Zurich, and eventually became Chief Executive Officer in 1997. He was then at the helm of the Lonza Group Ltd of Basel, after its spin off from Algroup, as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (2000-2001) and then as Chairman (2002).

In February 2002, he became Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the SGS S.A. of Geneva. In March 2006, he was appointed Chairman of SGS. In addition, he is a member of the Supervisory Board of Hochtief.

Prior to becoming CEO of the Fiat Group he had been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2003.

On November 3rd 2007, Sergio Marchionne crashed his private Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano on a highway in Switzerland, no injuries were sustained in the accident.

See also

• Carlos Ghosn, CEO who led a similar turnaround at Nissan.
• Lee Iacocca, CEO who led a similar turnaround at Chrysler.

References

External links

• Article on Marchionne (PDF)