Marchionne News Release July 22, 2018 3 PM EDT

Universitätsspital of Zurich, where Sergio Marchionne is admitted

The latest information on Sergio Marchionne, head of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), is not very promising. The executive underwent shoulder surgery that was not more difficult a month ago, but the postoperative process has been complicated by causes that have not been officially explained.

According to La Reppublica, Marchionne no longer responds to any treatment

According to this newspaper, Marchionne is in intensive care since Friday, when he went into a coma, and is connected to a life thread with an artificial respirator. One unfortunate ending of Marchionne is feared, his condition is "irreversible", according to La Stampa. Unconfirmed sources cited by this means point to a more serious disease, it could even be a cancer.

Since June 27 Marchionne is at the Universitätsspital in Zurich (Switzerland) recovering from the aforementioned surgery. It was supposed to be a short process, as the executive expected to resume his usual agenda at the beginning of July. Yesterday he was hastily replaced at FCA and Ferrari.

You can not know a last hour, since the silence on the part of the hospital is absolute and has not seen lately the sentimental partner of Marchionne, Manuela Battezzato, or the two children of his previous marriage, Alessio Giacomo and Jonathan Tyler.

The circumstance arises that Exor, a company controlled by Agnelli-Elkann that has holdings in FCA, CNH and Ferrari, is the second shareholder of GEDI Gruppo Editoriale SpA. Behind that company is the newspaper La Stampa, which suggests that it's first-hand information.

The official page of Sergio Marchionne in FCA is now inaccessible (although it can be read in the Google cache) and the company assumes that it will not return. A letter has already circulated announcing his final farewell, pending the clinical outcome.

Mike Manley, new CEO of the FCA group

Quick relief in front of his previous responsibilities

In a matter of hours we have learned that Mike Manley, a 54-year-old Briton, replaces Marchionne as CEO of FCA. He is a very seasoned executive within the company -even at Chrysler- and until now he was the head of the Jeep and RAM brands. No doubt Manley is one of the responsible for Jeep is where it is after the last few years.

As for the signing of the cavallino, which is legally separate from FCA, his successor as CEO is Louis C. Camilleri, a 63-year-old Egyptian. He has been CEO since 2002 of Philip Morris, the biggest sponsor of the scuderia, although it is no longer possible to legally show tobacco advertising. John Elkann will be the president.

The planned departure of Marchionne was scheduled for 2019, after having taken the company to the future. The challenges that FCA has for the coming years are very complex: how to reposition the different brands, the autonomous cars, the progressive electrification and the full entrance into the world of total connectivity.

Brief biography of Sergio Marchionne

He was born in Chieti (Italy) in 1952, nationalized Canadian and Italian. His academic background was in art, philosophy and law in Toronto, as well as studies in administration and commerce at the University of Windsor (Canada). Since 1983 he has worked in several consulting firms, industry, pharmacy, logistics, etc.

In May 2003 he became a member of the board of directors of Fiat SpA, the following year he was already CEO. In June 2009 he was appointed CEO of Chrysler Group LLC, following the acquisition of Fiat. In December 2014 the manufacturer was renamed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. He also acceded to the Ferrari presidency.

In addition to FCA, he has been on the board of directors of Exor SpA since May 2010, as well as president of CNH Industrial NV (product of the merger of Fiat and CNH Global). He is also on the board of directors of Philip Morris International and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a board member of JP Morgan International and the Council for the United States and Italy.

The news Sergio Machionne is in a coma was originally published in @motorpuntoes by Javier Costas.