Word: elkann
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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...
...Elkann is committed to the company. While getting his engineering degree at Turin's Politecnico University, he would sneak off for incognito stints at 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...
...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 26. Giovanni installed Elkann on Fiat's board in 1997, when he was only...
...meantime, two family heirs - from distant generations - will carry on the Agnelli legacy, at least for the time being. Umberto, 68, head of the family's financial holding company, will be only the fourth president in Fiat's 104-year history. The likely second-in-command is John Elkann, the son of Gianni's daughter, Margherita Agnelli, who was tapped by his grandfather two years ago to be the heir apparent. Born in New York, Elkann carries his French father's last name and fondness for literature. But with his lanky good looks and Turinese work ethic, the wavy-haired...