Ferrari Owners and F1 Fans Get Some Troubling News
The resignation of CEO Louis Camilleri leaves the carmaker to face daunting challenges under new leadership.
Can’t slow down now.
Photographer: Josep Lago/AFP
During its more than 70-year-long history, Ferrari NV has guarded its sports car and racing heritage like a priceless jewel. It’s been careful not to tamper with a winning formula, having leaders like founder Enzo Ferrari and Luca di Montezemolo rule the company for decades.
So losing two chief executive officers in two years — first with the death of Sergio Marchionne in 2018 and now with the resignation of Louis Camilleri after he was temporarily hospitalized with Covid-19 — must be deeply unsettling for ferraristi (Ferrari owners), the tifosi (supporters of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 racing team) and Ferrari shareholders.
Ferrari chairman and Agnelli family scion John Elkann, who’ll step into the CEO role on an interim basis, won’t struggle to find people who want the position. Though it comes with huge pressures, running Ferrari is one of most desirable jobs in global business. And besides Ferrari’s disappointing performance in F1 this season, Camilleri is handing over a company in otherwise fine fettle.