Montezemolo Resigns at Ferrari

Luca di Montezemolo will step down as chairman of Ferrari SpA on Oct. 13 after a dispute over the supercar company's strategy.

Fiat SpA, the company's 90% owner, attributes Montezemolo's departure to a "misunderstanding" with Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne that became public last weekend. Fiat owns 90% of the Maranello-based company.

Marchionne bristled at Montezemolo's depiction of himself as indispensible to Ferrari's future and described Ferrari's abysmal Formula One performance as "unacceptable."

Marchionne expects Ferrari to contribute to the growth of Fiat and its Chrysler acquisition. Montezemolo wanted to maintain the unit's exclusivity by controlling production regardless of demand.

Montezemolo was chairman of Fiat a decade ago when Marchionne arrived as CEO. Together the men revived the near-bankrupt company. During his 23 years at Ferrari, Montezemolo tripled sales, multiplied revenue by a factor of 10 and won the F1 constructors' championship in five consecutive years.