As Sergio Marchionne plans his sayonara as
the CEO of FCA at the end of 2019, the search is on not only for his successor,
but in a further hint to Sergio’s accelerated plans to sell off bits and pieces of the
Group, FCA also has tentacles out for a new corporate PR chief whose duties
will include “significant strategic corporate experience in managing mergers,
acquisitions and selldowns.”
The resumes of several highly-regarded PR
specialists have been floated before Marchionne, which is the strongest
evidence yet that FCA’s future as a global automotive group is pretty wobbly. The people who
have been approached have been told that the position will answer solely to the CEO.
In regard to a successor, FCA Chairman John
Elkann is on record as saying that the role will be filled internally.
However,
one of the traits accompanying a strong central figure as CEO is that the names
of possible successors are often virtually invisible because the boss grabs all the
headlines.
One name which keeps cropping up is
Sergio’s BFF, Reid Bigland, whom Marchionne promoted from being Head of FCA
Canada, to running Alfa Romeo.
However, Bigland first has to dodge a probe by
US criminal and regulations investigators who are investigating alleged
fraudulent manipulation of vehicle sales and registrations.
According
to a report in Canada’s FINANCIAL POST:
Bigland’s signature is displayed on documents filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission containing some of the disputed
sales figures. The monthly sales reports often contain statements from Bigland
touting monthly results and a streak of continually rising sales that he said
went back to 2010.
The sales streak was also highlighted in other
filings, including FCA’s 2015 annual report.
Federal investigators are eager to determine
whether documents were falsified and, if so, whether company officials may have
known what they were signing. The investigations follow lawsuits filed recently that allege company officials offered money to dealers to falsify sales.
According
to both U.S. and Canadian media, investigators are looking into allegations that
FCA ordered dealers to create false vehicle purchases, some of which were made
in the names of friends and relatives of salespeople, including underage family
members.
The government criminal probe follows two
lawsuits filed against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2016. In one of the suits, Ed Napleton,
who owns more than 50 dealerships in five states, alleges an FCA district manager in June 2015 offered him $20,000 if one of his dealerships falsely
reported 40 vehicles as sold. The money would be credited to the dealership’s
account as “cooperative advertising support,” the suit alleged.
FCA would then mark those same
vehicles as unsold at the beginning of the next month, according to the
lawsuit. The practice is known as “unwinding” a sale. Unwinding is a normal
practice for returned cars either when customers change their minds about their
purchases or fail to get financing.
Business media in Italy
suggest John Elkann already has an Italian executive in mind to follow
Marchionne, suggesting that the FCA Chairman intends to play a more prominent
role in the conduct of the company.
Elkann may be relatively young,
but not without extensive experience, being brought up and trained by the ‘Agnelli Royal Family’.
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