FCA Vows to Remain Independent, Confirms Manley as CEO

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV Chairman John Elkann reiterates to shareholders that the company intends to remain independent in the wake of CEO Sergio Marchionne’s death in July.

Stockholders also confirmed Mike Manley, 42, as CEO by more than a 99% margin. Separately, Ferrari NV shareholders approved Louis Camilleri as the spinoff’s CEO, also succeeding Marchionne.

Marchionne famously pursued several would-be merger partners. He declared that consolidation was essential to surviving the cost of meeting environmental standards and implementing such technologies as electrification, connectivity and autonomous driving. Over the past year, he focused on tidying up FCA’s balance sheet.

Elkann describes Manley, who took over as CEO four days before Marchionne died, as the single largest contributor to FCA’s success. Manley has headed the company’s highly profitable Jeep brand since 2009 and Ram truck brand since 2015. The two marques are FCA’s biggest revenue generators.

Elkann says Manley will announce a new management structure for FCA by the end of September. He also will name his leadership team, including a successor to Alfredo Altavilla, former head of the carmaker’s European operations. Altavilla, a confidant of Marchionne’s, joined FCA in 1990 and quit after being passed over for the CEO job.