|
Biography[edit] Early life[edit]
Born in New York City, John Elkann holds both Italian and American citizenship. He is the eldest son of Alain Elkann, a New York-born journalist and writer of French Jewish and Italian Jewish background,[2] and his then wife Italian Margherita Agnelli. His parents divorced in 1981 and both have remarried.[3] Elkann's maternal grandparents were the industrialist Gianni Agnelli and the Italian socialite Marella Agnelli (born Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto). His paternal great-grand-uncle was the banker Ettore Ovazza.
He has a brother, Lapo, and a sister, Ginevra, as well as five half-siblings from his mother's second marriage, as Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen, to Serge de Pahlen. His younger half-siblings are: Maria (born 1983), Pierre (born 1986), twins Sophie and Anna (born 1988) and Tatiana (born 1990).[4][5]
Elkann attended primary school in the United Kingdom and Brazil,[6] before his family moved to Paris, where he obtained a baccalauréat scientifique at the State School Lycée Victor-Duruy in 1994.[7] Later the same year, he moved to Italy to attend the Politecnico di Torino (Turin), where he graduated with a degree in management engineering in 2000.[7] As a result of his international upbringing, he is fluent in four languages.[8]
CAREER
While pursuing a degree in engineering, Elkann gained work experience through several internships: headlight plant in Birmingham, England (1996), production line in Tychy, Poland (1997), car dealership in Lille, France (1998) and also at GE's CIG (corporate initiatives group) where he worked on a thesis on e-auctions (1999).[9] In December 1997 Elkann was selected as the heir of his grandfather Gianni Agnell in place of Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, the son of Gianni's younger brother, Umberto, who had died at the age of 33.[10][11] He was appointed to the Fiat board at the age of 21.[12] In 2000, after graduating in Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, he joined General Electric's Corporate Audit program. He left General Electric two years later.[13] He moved back to Turin to be closer to his ageing grandfather, as well as be closer to the family business.[14]
In 2003, he joined IFIL (now Exor)[15] and worked on the turnaround of Fiat Group.
Elkann was instrumental in the appointment of FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne, in May 2004.[16]
After the deaths of his grandfather Gianni Agnelli in 2003, and his great-uncle Umberto Agnelli in 2004, Elkann became vice chairman of Fiat and vice chairman of Giovanni Agnelli Sapaz (now Giovanni Agnelli B.V.), the family partnership controlling EXOR.[17] In 2008, Elkann replaced 83-year-old Gianluigi Gabetti as the head of IFIL, which manages a portfolio worth eight billion euros.[18] In 2010, he became chairman of Fiat S.p.A. (now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), succeeding Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, and chairman of the Giovanni Agnelli Sapaz, succeeding Gianluigi Gabetti [it]. In February 2011, he was appointed chairman and CEO of EXOR.[19] Since Elkann's appointment, the value of the company's assets has grown and multiplied nine times in ten years.[20]
He is also Chairman of Ferrari,[21] Vice Chairman of GEDI Gruppo Editoriale S.p.a.[22] and a board member of Partner Re.[23]
He is Chairman of the Agnelli Foundation, a philanthropic institution supporting education.[24]
In 2013, he was included by Fortune in the world's most influential managers under the age of 40.[25]
In June 2017, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian newspaper La Stampa, which was acquired by the Agnelli family in 1926, he organized an international conference, "The Future of Newspapers".[26]
In February 2018, he appeared as one of the protagonists on the podcast series by Reid Hoffman, Masters of Scale.[27]
In 2019, Elkann announced he would be trying to merge Fiat Chrysler (FCA) with Peugeot S.A. (Groupe PSA), with the goal of forming the world's 4th largest OEM by volume and 3rd largest by revenues.[28] In July 2020, John and FCA's CEO Mike Manley announced that the name of the combined company will be Stellantis.[29][30]
In 2019, under Elkann's management, Exor purchased the controlling stake in GEDI Gruppo Editoriale from CIR Group for $113 million.[31]
In March 2020, Elkann and FCA’s board of directors agreed to forego their remaining compensation for 2020 in an act of shared sacrifice brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic.[32]
In May 2021, Elkann is nominated Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour in the automotive industry by the president Sergio Mattarella.[33]
Forbes estimated his net worth to be around US$2 billion in 2021.[34]
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
