John Elkann
Encyclopedia
John Philip Jacob Elkann (born April 1, 1976) is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli
, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat
(which also owns the Alfa Romeo
, Abarth
, Lancia
, Maserati
, and Ferrari
brands, and in July 2011 acquired control of Chrysler
, which also owns the Jeep
, Dodge
, Ram and Mopar
brands). He is the Chairman of Fiat and the Chairman and CEO of Exor
, an investment company controlled by the Agnelli Family, which owns Juventus F.C.
, Cushman & Wakefield and SGS
.
, United States
, John Elkann is the first son of Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen, a painter and poet of the Agnelli
family, and her first husband, Alain Elkann
, a French-Italian journalist and writer. His parents divorced in 1981. Elkann's maternal grandparents were the Italian princess and socialite Marella Agnelli
and the industrialist Gianni Agnelli
. He has a brother Lapo
and a sister, Ginevra
, as well as five half siblings from his mother’s second marriage to Serge de Pahlen.
Elkann attended primary school in the UK
and in Brazil
, before his family moved to Paris
, where he obtained a baccalauréat scientifique at the State School Lycée Victor-Duruy in 1994. 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. As a result of his international upbringing, he is fluent in four languages.
, 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).
In December 1997, Elkann was selected by his grandfather Gianni Agnelli to take the place in the family business of Giovanni Alberto - the son of Gianni’s younger brother, Umberto
, who had died at the age of 33 – and he was appointed to the Fiat Board at the age of 22.
In 2000, after graduating in Management Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, he joined General Electric’s Corporate Audit program. He left General Electric two years later .
In 2003, he joined IFIL (now Exor
) and worked on the turnaround of Fiat Group.
John Elkann was instrumental in the appointment of current Fiat CEO, Sergio Marchionne
, in May 2004.
After the deaths of his grandfather Gianni Agnelli (2003) and his great-uncle Umberto Agnelli (2004), Elkann became Vice Chairman of Fiat and Vice Chairman of Giovanni Agnelli & C, the family partnership through which it controls EXOR.
He is also Chairman of Editrice La Stampa and Itedi, a board member of Fiat Industrial, SGS, RCS Mediagroup, The Economist Group and Banca Leonardo.
In addition, he is an active member of various non-profit organizations and think-tanks engaged in the global geopolitical debate, including serving as Vice Chairman of the Italian Aspen Institute and the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation and as a member of the Brookings Institution, MOMA and the Italy-China Foundation.
In 2010, he became Chairman of Fiat S.p.A., succeeding Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, and Chairman of the Giovanni Agnelli e C. Sapaz, suceeding Gianluigi Gabetti. In February 2011, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of EXOR.
, one of the Borromean Islands
of Lake Maggiore
; the reception, held on nearby Isola Bella
, featured a 5 meter long chocolate cake depicting the Lingotto
car plant of Turin and a unicorn, the heraldic symbol of the Borromeo family, and a guest list including Henry Kissinger
, Mario Monti
, Michel Platini
, Valentino Garavani, Carla Bruni
and Elle McPherson. Their first child, a boy named Leone (Italian
for "lion
"), was born in August 2006. On 12 November 2007, Mrs. Elkann gave birth to the couple's second boy, Oceano (Italian for "ocean
").
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
(which also owns the Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
, Abarth
Abarth
Abarth is an Italian racing car maker founded by Austrian-Italian Carlo Abarth and Italian Armando Scagliarini in Turin in 1949. Its logo depicts a stylized scorpion on a red and yellow background.- History :...
, Lancia
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
, Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
, and Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
brands, and in July 2011 acquired control of Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, which also owns the Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
, Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
, Ram and Mopar
Mopar
Mopar is the automobile parts and service arm of Chrysler Group LLC. The term was first used by Chrysler in the 1920s and has been in continuous use ever since. Mopar parts are original equipment manufactured parts for Chrysler vehicles...
brands). He is the Chairman of Fiat and the Chairman and CEO of Exor
Exor (company)
Exor S.p.A. is an Italian-based industrial holding company controlled by the Agnelli family. The firm dates back to 1927 when Giovanni Agnelli formed Istituto Finanziario Italiano to manage his investments in Fiat, Cinzano and other companies, as well as his interests in the village of Sestriere....
, an investment company controlled by the Agnelli Family, which owns Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, Cushman & Wakefield and SGS
SGS Industrial Services
SGS Industrial Services is a global provider of technical inspection, verification, testing and conformity assessment services for industrial markets. SGS Industrial Services is one of the 10 divisions of the Geneva-based SGS S.A...
.
Early life
Born in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, John Elkann is the first son of Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen, a painter and poet of the Agnelli
Agnelli
Agnelli is a surname, and can refer to:*Members of the Agnelli family of Italy, including:**Giovanni Agnelli , Italian manufacturer and founder of Fiat***Edoardo Agnelli , Italian industrialist, son of Giovanni...
family, and her first husband, Alain Elkann
Alain Elkann
Alain Elkann is an Italian novelist, intellectual, and journalist. Currently, Elkann is the conductor of cultural programs on Italian television. A recurring theme in his books is the history of the Jews in Italy, their centrality to Italian history, and the relation between the Jewish faith and...
, a French-Italian journalist and writer. His parents divorced in 1981. Elkann's maternal grandparents were the Italian princess and socialite Marella Agnelli
Marella Agnelli
Marella Agnelli, born Princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto is an Italian socialite, style icon and wife of Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli...
and the industrialist Gianni Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
. He has a brother Lapo
Lapo Elkann
Lapo Elkann is a New York-born Italian industrialist, former marketing manager. He is currently the manager of brand promotion at Fiat Automobiles. He is a "global ambassador" of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer....
and a sister, Ginevra
Ginevra Elkann
Ginevra Elkann is an Italian apprentice film director, and, as granddaughter of Gianni Agnelli, is among the heirs to the Agnelli family fortune. She is the daughter of Margherita Agnelli and the French-Italian writer Alain Elkann; her brother, the industrialist John Elkann, is Chairman of the...
, as well as five half siblings from his mother’s second marriage to Serge de Pahlen.
Elkann attended primary school in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, before his family moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he obtained a baccalauréat scientifique at the State School Lycée Victor-Duruy in 1994. 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. As a result of his international upbringing, he is fluent in four languages.
Career
While pursuing his degree in Management Engineering, Elkann gained work experience through several internships: headlight plant in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(1996), production line in Tychy
Tychy
Tychy is a city in Silesia, Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bieruń to the east and Kobiór to the south...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(1997), car dealership in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(1998) and also at GE's CIG (corporate initiatives group) where he worked on a thesis on e-auctions (1999).
In December 1997, Elkann was selected by his grandfather Gianni Agnelli to take the place in the family business of Giovanni Alberto - the son of Gianni’s younger brother, Umberto
Umberto Agnelli
Umberto Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur and politician. His brother was Gianni Agnelli.He served as a CEO of Fiat from 1970–1976 and senator of the Italian Republic, from 1976 to 1979, and was the honorary chairman of the Juventus soccer team, the past president of the Italian Football...
, who had died at the age of 33 – and he was appointed to the Fiat Board at the age of 22.
In 2000, after graduating in Management Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, he joined General Electric’s Corporate Audit program. He left General Electric two years later .
In 2003, he joined IFIL (now Exor
Exor (company)
Exor S.p.A. is an Italian-based industrial holding company controlled by the Agnelli family. The firm dates back to 1927 when Giovanni Agnelli formed Istituto Finanziario Italiano to manage his investments in Fiat, Cinzano and other companies, as well as his interests in the village of Sestriere....
) and worked on the turnaround of Fiat Group.
John Elkann was instrumental in the appointment of current Fiat CEO, Sergio Marchionne
Sergio Marchionne
Sergio Marchionne is an international manager best known for his turnaround of the Italian automotive group Fiat and, more recently, for managing the US automotive group Chrysler from bankruptcy to profitability...
, in May 2004.
After the deaths of his grandfather Gianni Agnelli (2003) and his great-uncle Umberto Agnelli (2004), Elkann became Vice Chairman of Fiat and Vice Chairman of Giovanni Agnelli & C, the family partnership through which it controls EXOR.
He is also Chairman of Editrice La Stampa and Itedi, a board member of Fiat Industrial, SGS, RCS Mediagroup, The Economist Group and Banca Leonardo.
In addition, he is an active member of various non-profit organizations and think-tanks engaged in the global geopolitical debate, including serving as Vice Chairman of the Italian Aspen Institute and the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation and as a member of the Brookings Institution, MOMA and the Italy-China Foundation.
In 2010, he became Chairman of Fiat S.p.A., succeeding Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, and Chairman of the Giovanni Agnelli e C. Sapaz, suceeding Gianluigi Gabetti. In February 2011, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of EXOR.
Marriage and children
In September 2004, Elkann married the Italian countess Lavinia Borromeo on Isola MadreIsola Madre
Isola Madre, at 220 m wide and 330 m long, is the largest island of the Isole Borromee archipelago which falls within the Italian part of the Alpine Lake Maggiore, in the Province of Verbano Cusio Ossola, Piedmont....
, one of the Borromean Islands
Borromean Islands
The Borromean Islands are a group of three small islands and two islets in the Italian part of Lago Maggiore, located in the western arm of the lake, between Verbania to the north and Stresa to the south...
of Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
; the reception, held on nearby Isola Bella
Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore)
Isola Bella is one of the Borromean Islands of Lago Maggiore in north Italy. The island is situated in the Borromean Gulf 400 meters from the lakeside town of Stresa...
, featured a 5 meter long chocolate cake depicting the Lingotto
Lingotto
Lingotto is a district of Turin, Italy, that named the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, which once was a huge automobile factory, constructed by Fiat. Built from 1916 and opened in 1923, the design was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars...
car plant of Turin and a unicorn, the heraldic symbol of the Borromeo family, and a guest list including Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, Mario Monti
Mario Monti
Mario Monti is an Italian economist and academic who is Prime Minister of Italy, as well as Minister of Economy and Finance, since November 2011. Monti served as a European Commissioner from 1995 to 2004, with responsibility for the Internal Market, Services, Customs and Taxation from 1995 to 1999...
, Michel Platini
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
, Valentino Garavani, Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is an Italian-French songwriter, singer, actress, and former model...
and Elle McPherson. Their first child, a boy named Leone (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for "lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
"), was born in August 2006. On 12 November 2007, Mrs. Elkann gave birth to the couple's second boy, Oceano (Italian for "ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
").
Offices
- EXOR S.p.A. Chairman/CEO
- FIAT S.p.A. Chairman
- Giovanni Agnelli e C. Sapaz Chairman/General Partner
- LA STAMPA Chairman
- ITEDI Chairman
- FONDAZIONE GIOVANNI AGNELLI Vice Chairman
- ITALIAN ASPEN INSTITUTE Vice Chairman
- SGS Board Member
- FIAT INDUSTRIAL Board Member
- BROOKINGS INSTITUTION IAC Member
- MOMA Trustee
- THE ECONOMIST GROUP Board Member
- RIT CAPITAL PARTNERS PLC Board Member
- GRUPPO BANCA LEONARDO S.p.A. Board Member
- RCS MEDIAGROUP S.p.A. Board Member
- PINACOTECA GIOVANNI E MARIA AGNELLI Member
- ITALY-CHINA FOUNDATION Board Member