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Ferdinando Giugliano

Sergio Marchionne’s Blueprint for Saving Italy

A lack of good managers is holding the country back.

Italy's productivity is poor. Fiat Chrysler may have a few pointers — Italy's productivity is poor. Fiat Chrysler may have a few pointers
Photograph: LightRocket

By

Ferdinando Giugliano

July 30, 2018, 6:00 AM UTC

“Unhappy is the land that needs a hero,” wrote Bertolt Brecht in “Life of Galileo.” But there are times when countries and companies do need someone to step up; when the situation is so dire that only a radical makeover will do.

Sergio Marchionne, who died last week at the age of 66, was that person at Fiat and Chrysler — a savior at least to their workers and shareholders. He took two car companies on the edge of failure and, after a deep restructuring, turned the merged entity (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV) into the world’s seventh-biggest automotive group.