John Elkann

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John Elkann
Born John Philip Jacob Elkann
(1976-04-01) 1 April 1976
New York City, New York
Nationality Italian
Occupation Industrialist
Religion Catholic
Spouse(s) Lavinia Borromeo
Children Leone Elkann
Oceano Elkann
Vita Elkann
Parents Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen and Alain Elkann
Relatives Gianni Agnelli grandfather
Edoardo Agnelli great-grandfather
Giovanni Agnelli (founder of Fiat) great-great-grandfather
Andrea Agnelli first cousin

John Philip Jacob Elkann (born 1 April 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,[1] which also owns the Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Mopar brands).[2] He is the Chairman of Fiat and the Chairman and CEO of Exor, an investment company controlled by the Agnelli family, which owns Fiat Industrial, Juventus F.C., Cushman & Wakefield. According to Fortune, he is the world's fourth most influential manager under the age of 40.[3]

Early life

Born in New York, United States, John Elkann is the first son of Alain Elkann, a journalist and writer of French Jewish and Italian Jewish background, and his then wife Italian Margherita Agnelli. His parents divorced in 1981 and both have re-married.

Elkann's maternal grandparents were the Italian socialite Marella Agnelli (born Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto) and the industrialist Gianni Agnelli. His paternal great-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][6]

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.[7]

Career

While pursuing his degree in Management 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).

In December 1997, Elkann was selected by his grandfather Gianni Agnelli to take the place in the family business of Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, the son of Gianni’s younger brother, Umberto, who had died at the age of 33. He was appointed to the Fiat Board at the age of 21.

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.[8]

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.[9]

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 & C, the family partnership through which it controls EXOR.

In 2010, he became Chairman of Fiat S.p.A., succeeding Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, and Chairman of the Giovanni Agnelli e C. Sapaz, succeeding Gianluigi Gabetti. In February 2011, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of EXOR.

In 2013 he was appointed member of the board of directors of News Corp.[10]

He is also Chairman of Editrice La Stampa, a board member of Fiat Industrial, 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[11] and MOMA.[12]

Personal life

Elkann was raised Catholic. On 4 September 2004, Elkann married Lavinia Borromeo (born Lavinia Ida Borromeo-Arese on 10 March 1977 in Milan, Italy) a member of the prominent Italian aristocratic Borromeo family.[13][14] They married in Roman Catholic ceremony on Isola Madre, one of the Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore.[15] They have three children. A son named Leone (Italian for "lion") Mosé, was born on 27 August 2006.[16] On 11 November 2007,[17] Mrs. Elkann gave birth to the couple's second boy, Oceano (Italian for "ocean") Noah. Their third child, a girl named Vita (Italian for "life") Talita was born on 23 January 2012.[18][19] They were all born in Turin (Italy) at S.Anna's Hospital.

Offices

  • EXOR S.p.A. Chairman/CEO
  • FIAT S.p.A. Chairman
  • Giovanni Agnelli e C. Sapaz Chairman/General Partner
  • LA STAMPA Chairman
  • FONDAZIONE GIOVANNI AGNELLI Vice Chairman
  • ITALIAN ASPEN INSTITUTE Vice Chairman
  • FIAT INDUSTRIAL Board Member
  • BROOKINGS INSTITUTION IAC Member
  • MOMA Trustee
  • THE ECONOMIST GROUP Board Member
  • NEWS CORPORATION Board Member
  • GRUPPO BANCA LEONARDO S.p.A. Board Member
  • PINACOTECA GIOVANNI E MARIA AGNELLI Member

Awards and honors

  • Appeal of Conscience Award, September 2010

References

  1. ↑ "Fiat completes acquisition of chrysler equity from canada and the u.s. department of the treasury". Fiat Spa. 21 July 2011. 
  2. ↑ "FIAT GROUP AND CHRYSLER ENTER INTO A GLOBAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCE". Fiat Spa. 30 April 2009. 
  3. ↑ "40 under 40". Fortune. 30 September 2013. 
  4. ↑ http://www.geneall.net/I/per_page.php?id=122757
  5. ↑ http://www.thepeerage.com/p16329.htm#i163290
  6. ↑ http://geneagraphie.com/getperson.php?personID=I97223&tree=1
  7. ↑ "Unlikely heir who saved the family jewels". Financial Times. 2 March 2011. (registration required)
  8. ↑ "Elkann nel Cda Fiat a 22 anni". La Repubblica. 8 July 2013. 
  9. ↑ "John Elkann: Fiat's fresh face". Fortune. 30 May 2004. 
  10. ↑ "News Corporation Board of Directors Approves Separation of Businesses". Wall Street Journal. 24 May 2013. 
  11. ↑ "International Advisory Council". Brookings Institute. 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Cultural Boards Get Younger Look". Wall Street Journal. 1 November 2010. 
  13. ↑ http://cinquantamila.corriere.it/storyTellerThread.php?threadId=BORROMEO+Lavinia
  14. ↑ http://www.geneall.net/I/per_page.php?id=525198
  15. ↑ The Wedding of the Decade | Italian Lakes Wedding Planner. Italianlakeswedding.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-24.
  16. ↑ "E' nato Leone, figlio di Jaki e Lavinia Inizia la sesta generazione Agnelli". La Repubblica (in Italian). 27 August 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2013. 
  17. ↑ "È nato Oceano Elkann". Il Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 12 November 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2013. 
  18. ↑ "È nata Vita, la terza figlia di John Elkann". Corriere della Sera. 24 January 2012. 
  19. ↑ "E' nata Vita la terzogenita di casa Elkann". La Stampa (in Italian). 25 January 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2013. 

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