Mystery Shrouds FCA's Former Chief Executive, Sergio Marchionne, And His Health — Was He Possibly PUSHED Out?

Yesterday, out of the blue, news broke that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Sergio Marchionne had been unseated at several of the conglomerate's marques. As noted by a commenter in a separate thread, three people had been named to take over his various duties.

According to reports, Marchionne was known to be a workaholic.

But one has to wonder whether or not Marchionne was actually pushed out of his role. It's clear he yielded great power and, perhaps, not everyone agreed with his moves that have been lauded.

Read the letter John Elkann sent to company employees HERE!

We don't mean to be skeptics in what is a trying time. Clearly, Marchionne underwent a surgical procedure on his shoulder but it's a bit peculiar as to what went wrong in his recovery. Could it have been an infection or something potentially worse?

Regardless, we hope for the best possible outcome in regards to Marchionne's health.

The latest news indicates that Marchionne underwent surgery days after a public appearance on June 26 and has been in recovery for three weeks now with complications. His conditioned worsened Saturday.

Given this color, do YOU believe Marchionne was PUSHED out of his role? What say you, Spies?

...A Fiat Chrysler spokesman confirmed Marchionne was in Zurich’s University Hospital, one of the country’s largest medical centers.

The spokesman did not give the 66-year-old Italian-Canadian executive’s condition or say in which of the hospital’s 43 divisions he was being treated...

 

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MDarringer - 7/22/2018 5:03:19 PM

-1 Boost

My guess is that FCA is about to get bought out and irrespective of Marchionne's health he would have been pushed out as a condition of the buy out anyway.

mre30 - 7/22/2018 5:22:50 PM

+1 Boost

Curious about if the story was real, although a close friend who has a friend at FCA in Sr Mgt said that all of Marchione's various jobs have "acting" people now running them. I imagine that those will people's names will filter out in the upcoming days. I suspect the story is accurate.

MDarringer - 7/22/2018 5:42:43 PM

-4 Boost

It would not surprise me if the Agnelli family saw Sergio declining and went around him to Hyundai-Kia hat in hand to consummate what Sergio botched the last time H-K was serious about buying. There were several viable suitors any of which would want Marchionne rebuffed if they were to take another swing at FCA.

Vette71 - 7/22/2018 5:59:28 PM

+1 Boost

Matt there are better ways for the family to push a sale. It is their interest and Sergio's to get the highest value possible. This event and the uncertainty around it will cause the market value to decline. He was leaving anyway and the Board could push a sale over his objections if necessary. He would go along as he wins if it happens one way or another.

MDarringer - 7/22/2018 8:13:00 PM

-3 Boost

Leaving in April of 2019 is one thing, but to have your head honcho's health suddenly tank in the last 30 days means evasive action was likely. Remember the sudden rumor of a Hyundai-Kia buyout? Talking was happening. Cutting a sweetheart deal that keeps Italian production alive would mean the Agnellis going toward H-K. FCA in crisis mode means anything could happen including the Chinese doing an hostile takeover.

TomM - 7/22/2018 5:34:22 PM

+4 Boost

WHile any surgery has its risks - the more likely scenario is that upon opening the shoulder for surgery - they found something else likely more serious.

I doubt that ANY board would attempt to unseat its leader based just on his having shoulder surgery. Especially knowing that he was retiring soon anyway. It is at least clear to me that whatever they found was NOT just a typical shoulder injury.

The fact is - Marchionne has been good for the company - and the company has been profitable during his tenure. At the same time - one must remember that the Agnelli Family through its investment company - still owns about 30% of FCA - while not controlling interest anymore - it is still hard to get around that.

Vette71 - 7/22/2018 9:12:50 PM

+1 Boost

Very heavy smoker for most of his life plus a stressful workaholic. They found cancer is my bet on what happened and its not responding to treatment over the last few weeks.

MDarringer - 7/22/2018 9:55:21 PM

-1 Boost

@Vette71 Indeed I believe you are correct. There are those people who discover their cancer is so far advanced that their time left may be mere weeks. Often, it is during a surgery that an OMG moment happens.

TomM - 7/23/2018 7:09:25 AM

+3 Boost

Noting the area they were going to - If they did find cancer - it would have to have metastasized from somewhere else - not a good sign at all.

Foncool - 7/23/2018 7:20:46 AM

+1 Boost

Word out of Italy is advanced prostate cancer, in drug induced coma, on life support.

Agent00R - 7/23/2018 4:46:03 PM

+1 Boost

Wow, if that's the case that's just awful.

PUGPROUD - 7/23/2018 8:10:39 AM

+1 Boost

Sergio's approach to finding a partner/buyer was totally mishandled over the years and could not be appreciated by major stockholders seeking to maximize their holdings' value. Getting closer to his announced retirement in 2019, they may have decided there was no reason to wait so why not get on with it now.

MDarringer - 7/23/2018 10:22:45 AM

-2 Boost

Given the precarious state of FCA with only two brands doing well and a history of new products at Maserati, Alfa-Romeo, Dodge, and Chrysler being ignored by the buying public turning that investment money into trash, they probably looked at his non-existent product development plans and had enough.

malba2367 - 7/23/2018 8:26:44 AM

+2 Boost

Only thing I can think of is breathing/heart issues that developed after shoulder surgery. Doubtful it is any type of cancer as FCA announced it as shoulder surhery...they would get in all sorts of trouble with regulatory agencies if they were making materially false statements about key personnel.

MDarringer - 7/23/2018 10:20:12 AM

-4 Boost

That shows your ignorance. MANY people are discovered to have cancer when they complain of bodily aches and pains. He could very well have complained of shoulder pain and they went in to do exploratory surgery. For example, back pain can be a red flag for a body taken over by cancer.

LCook1227 - 7/23/2018 10:55:32 PM

+1 Boost

I too am 66 years old and last year I had quadruple bypass surgery. Things appeared to be going very well in my recovery until it was clear that I had a serious Staph infection I received during my surgery. I went septic, which means the infection was in my blood and could spread throughout my body. It was terrifically painful and required almost 3 months of intravenous antibiotics, a second operation to get rid of the infection they could clean out around the surgical site from my incision to my heart and my recycled arteries along with an additional 2 weeks hospitalization. I was sent home with a wound vacuum attached to my chest that stayed with me for a couple of months along with my I.V. for antibiotics and other medications. There is no way I could have worked for at least a year after my heart surgery. I know shoulder surgery isn't as serious, but it was the infection that laid me up, not the heart. I am lucky to be alive and though I hope Mr. Marchionne does not have an infection like mine, he has my best wishes for a complete recovery.

LCook1227 - 7/23/2018 11:11:44 PM

+1 Boost

And by the way, they don't do exploratory surgery when you complain of shoulder pain. An MRI of the area would have revealed any cancer.