Fiat to get a new driver

Umberto Agnelli, twice sidelined from the top job at Fiat is set on Friday to finally become its chairman amid its worst crisis ever, taking...

Umberto Agnelli, twice sidelined from the top job at Fiat is set on Friday to finally become its chairman amid its worst crisis ever, taking the reins at the industrial group his grandfather founded nearly 104 years ago. Current chairman of Fiat Paolo Fresco announced on Tuesday that he would nominate Agnelli to succeed him.

Agnelli, 68, had already begun to emerge from the shadows of his older brother Gianni as the charismatic family patriarch battled a worsening illness. Gianni’s death in January thrust Umberto firmly into the spotlight.

Some investors said the appointment of the man who served as the group’s chief executive for a period in the 1970s could bring a welcome dose of stability to the group that has been rocked by crisis in recent months.

But others said they feared Agnelli was too closely tied to the family’s history of relying on government help rather than addressing Fiat’s own competitive weaknesses.

Agnelli’s own career has had its ups and downs. He was replaced as the group’s CEO after a crisis in the late 1970s and again forced aside in the early 1990s by powerful investment bank Mediobanca, which ousted him as a condition of a bailout during another corporate disaster. Yet that adversity brought him opportunity: he got a chance to shine as head of family holding company Ifil, which together with Ifi holds around 34 per cent of Fiat.

Together with his right-hand man Gabriele Galateri, Umberto set out to widen Ifil’s business beyond autos.

Under his stewardship, Ifil bought into the food, beverage and travel sectors, and became a model for Fiat’s diversification into power, insurance and other industries.

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Umberto also became highly visible to soccer fans as chairman of family soccer team Juventus.

But his personal life was marred by tragedy. His son Giovannino, who headed iconic scooter maker Piaggio and was tipped to one day take the helm at Fiat, died in 1997 of stomach cancer aged 33.

Compared with his brother, who had a deep affection for the auto business, a symbol of Italy’s post-war economic boom, Umberto Agnelli has been seen as a numbers man. (Reuters)