Alfa Romeo soon back in North America

FIAT Group CEO Sergio Marchionne announces long-awaited comeback

L'Alfa Romeo will soon be back in North America. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of the FIAT Group, gave the announcement during a conference call on the first quarter of 2006. Marchionne had anticipated the news some months ago in an interview to Corriere Canadese/Tandem. He remarked that the planned comeback, to be staged as soon as possible, would give a significant contribution to the achievements of sales targets assigned to Alfa Romeo.
This return, explained Marchionne, will go through the recently re-established distribution chain for Maserati. "We have worked hard for this," he concluded. The group is still waiting to obtain the required authorizations from many different states.
The news was welcomed by Italian unions, which appreciate the potential for development and growth entailed by this return to North America. "This is a positive answer to the needs for new jobs in Campania and in the Pomigliano d'Arco industry area. The announcement that the Alfa Romeo brand will return to the North American market is the best thing we could expect to hear," said the regional secretary for Campania of UILM, Giovanni Sgambati, commenting on the announcement.
"This prestigious brand," continued the union organizer, "at long last stages a comeback. The vehicles assembled in Pomigliano will go beyond the national and European dimension, all over the world. This has huge implications, opening interesting scenarios for boosting job creation and meeting the quality and competition challenges."
Under the slogan "Without industry, no future," the Naples UILM convention will gather 262 delegates representing about 9,000 union members. Almost 200 meetings and four provincial conventions were held in preparation. Sgambati will give the introductory speech.


Marchionne to be honoured in Toronto at NAFTA's Italian Chambers of Commerce
Conference

After yet another success in a long string of victories, FIAT Group CEO Sergio Marchionne could soon be back in his Toronto for a visit.
Sergio Marchionne, who recently announced the return of Alfa Romeo to North American markets, should, in fact, be in Toronto on May 18 to be presented with an award during the Conference of Italian Chambers of Commerce of NAFTA.
"If I won't have brought it back to health within three years, they will be right in kicking me out," he had said, mincing no words, explaining the challenge he took on when he accepted to take the helm of the FIAT Group - Italy's largest industrial group - in a crisis. Based on current results, we can probably say that he's won the challenge.
Born in Chieti, Marchionne came to Canada, at the age of 14, with his father Concezio, a retired warrant officer of the Carabinieri, eventually becoming the secretary of the local chapter of Associazione Nazionale Carabinieri that today bears the name of his father.
He is a citizen of both Italy and Canada and holds degrees in Law (Osgoode Law School) and Commerce (University of Windsor). Marchionne is now 53, married, father of two, lives near Lausanne and has a great passion for cars and classical music.
He became CEO of the FIAT Group on June 1, 2004, immediately after the death of Umberto Agnelli and the clash between the Agnellis and then-CEO Giuseppe Morchio. Marchionne was already on the board of FIAT. Umberto Agnelli, who had a keen instinct in judging managers, had appointed him in May of 2003, as an independent, possibly prefiguring a more active future role for him. Agnelli was aware of Marchionne's skill as a corporate rescuer, a talent he had shown in February of 2002 when he had become CEO of Societé Generale de Survelliance (SGS) - a world leader in business certification; at 125 years, SGS was short of breath just like FIAT.
After nursing it back to profitability, Marchionne did not abandon SGS; on March 20 of this year he was appointed President. When the manager became CEO of FIAT, the Group - despite the measures taken by Umberto Agnelli - was still in deep crisis: 2003 had closed with losses for 2 billion euros, and the first quarter of 2004 with 212 million. The car sector was the most worrisome, accounting for 192 million euros in losses in the early months of 2004. Marchionne was known as a hard worker and confirmed his fame. The Italian-Canadian manager knew America well and used all his skill as a hard but fair negotiator in order to solve the issue of the alliance with General Motors. That success allowed Marchionne to get a free hand in forming new strategies and alliances (with Ford for the new 500, but also with Japan's Suzuki, India's Tata and France's PSA) and in converting debts with banks, an operation that kept FIAT in the hands of the Agnellis.


Maserti Canada is ready

I have yet to receive an official communiqué, but I can guarantee that we are ready," said Remo Ferri, who manages Ferrari Maserati of Ontario, one of the dealerships that FIAT CEO Marchionne's plan sees as the infrastructure that will support Alfa Romeo's return to North America.
"I used to sell Alfa Romeos in the Nineties," recalled Ferri, "and the brand still has a lot of appeal. Moreover, nowadays Alfa Romeo can present a range of beautiful models, which won't fail to attract the interest of Canadian customers."
The return of Alfa Romeo to America has been rumoured about for years. "This time, it is different," insisted Ferri. "Sergio Marchionne's firsthand knowledge of North America will make it possible to look beyond the product itself, preparing a complete package that is sure to make us competitive."
Ferri runs an important group of dealerships, but his great love has always been Ferrari; in his youth, he worked in their Maranello factory. He is also the man behind the huge success of Maseratis in the last few years; hopefully he will be part of the team that will reintroduce Alfa Romeos, the formidable competitor of Lexus and BMWs. - F.R.

Publication Date: 2006-05-14
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6254