Word: agnellis
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Within days of the death in late May of Umberto Agnelli, the patriarch of one of Italy's leading business families, Giuseppe Morchio made his move. As mourners paid their last respects, the chief executive of the Fiat auto and truck company that is the core of the Agnelli family fortune demanded to be given Umberto's title of chairman as well. To the family, it seemed like a blatant power grab, and when its members replied, "No, grazie," he quit in a huff. The top job went instead to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the head of Ferrari...
Just after Fiat chief Gianni Agnelli died last January, the world got a rare glimpse of the company's heir apparent. John Elkann--the grandson Agnelli had handpicked six years earlier as his eventual successor--cut a striking figure at the wake in Turin, reminding many of the young Agnelli's poise and elegance. For now, Gianni's brother Umberto Agnelli, 69, controls Fiat Corp. But Elkann, 27, has become the man to watch...
...Fiat operations: a headlight plant in England, a production line in Poland. He continues to plug away in obscurity, and has declined to answer press queries about the future. Questions in the past were related to the tragic circumstances of Elkann's rise. Originally, his cousin Giovanni Alberto Agnelli had been tapped, but he died of cancer in 1997. Three years later, Gianni's son Edoardo committed suicide...
...mettle will be tested. Fiat saw its share of the Italian auto market fall from 60% to 39% in the late 1990s, before striking a stock-swap deal with General Motors in 2000. Fiat needs to reaffirm the brand at home and expand abroad. That was perhaps Gianni Agnelli's greatest achievement--and could be Elkann's greatest challenge. --By Jeff Israely/Rome
...Agnelli family long ago moved to diversify its wealth into stakes in such companies as Club Med and Danone, the world's biggest yogurt manufacturer. Whether or not Umberto succeeds in rescuing Fiat, the Agnellis face a vexing succession issue: there is no heir in the next generation. Giovanni's only son Edoardo killed himself two years ago, and Umberto's son Giovanni Alberto, who was being groomed as the successor, died of cancer in 1997. The burden of securing the family's financial future will probably fall to Giovanni's U.S.-born grandson John Elkann, who is just...