Umberto Agnelli, 69; Scion of Fiat Dynasty Led Firm’s Turnaround
Fiat Chairman Umberto Agnelli, who emerged from decades in the shadow of his glamorous older brother to help orchestrate a turnaround at his family’s troubled automaker, has died of cancer at his home near Turin, Italy. He was 69.
In a family marked by tragedy as much as by riches, Agnelli had his share of both before his death Thursday night. He grew up in opulence but experienced the death of his parents as a boy and later lost his son to cancer.
But Agnelli’s achievements and adversity tended to take second place to the legends surrounding his older brother, Giovanni “Gianni” Agnelli, who oversaw Fiat until his death in January 2003. That passing ceded the family business to Umberto and gave him a chance to shine.
In 2002, the Fiat Group’s losses were $3.5 billion; after a year with the younger Agnelli at the helm, they had dropped to $1.5 billion -- still grim but a vast improvement. In February, he and other executives pledged that the group would return to profitability in 2006.
“All his life, he lived a nightmare of being No. 2. You always said, ‘Umberto, the brother of Giovanni,’ ” Cesare Romiti, managing director of Fiat from 1976 to 1996, said in an Italian radio interview. “He was very urbane, witty and cosmopolitan.... But he had more sorrows than joys in his life.”
Umberto was one of the last of the Agnelli old guard, whom Italians have watched with the fascination Americans feel for the Kennedys.
Fiat is Italy’s largest private employer. Thousands have headed north to Turin for Fiat factory jobs over the decades; millions have driven the company’s compact cars.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called Agnelli a dear friend. “Right at the moment when he was realizing his business dream, Umberto was hit by an aggressive and incurable evil, after having suffered so much from the death of his son.”
Fiat Chief Executive Giuseppe Morchio said: “We worked hard in these 15 months and from the first days, what struck me was his deep love for Fiat, his sense of duty, responsibility and the spirit of service.”
Fiat offices and factories observed a minute of silence Friday, while the Agnelli-owned La Stampa newspaper issued a special edition with six pages devoted to Umberto.
In Turin, many worried about the fate of the automaker.
“This is the end,” cafe owner Lucio Manfrinato said morosely. “You’ve got to be obsessed with automobiles to carry forward a car company, and these people had the obsession of making cars.”
Fiat stock closed up about 2% Friday, a sign some traders believed Fiat without a powerful Agnelli at the top might be more willing to take unpopular cost-cutting measures and might even consider getting rid of the auto business.
The Agnellis’ dynasty began in 1899, when Umberto’s grandfather gauged the future appeal of automobiles and turned the idea into Fiat.
Umberto Agnelli was born in 1934, the youngest of seven children. His father died when he was 1, his mother when he was 11.
As he grew, Umberto saw his brother Giovanni taking a leadership role at Fiat and capturing headlines as a jet-setting playboy.
Umberto had a more retiring character.
“He was a very reserved man, always secluded, low-profile,” said his high school friend and Fiat historian Valerio Castronuovo. “He was also very determined.”
Umberto studied law and occupied his free time with the family’s soccer club, Juventus, which is Italy’s most successful team. At age 22, he was named chairman of the team. He was involved with it until his death.
His first major jobs were in Fiat-tied insurance companies. He progressed to top roles in Fiat over the years, and briefly ventured out of the family dynasty, serving as a Christian Democrat senator from 1976 to 1979.
But Umberto returned to the family fold, devoting himself to the Agnelli holding companies IFIL and IFI, which he diversified with insurance companies, department stores and a major stake in the French food maker Danone, among other interests.
But more misfortune lay ahead, most tragically when his son, Giovannino, died in 1997 of a rare cancer. Giovannino, who was 33, had been groomed to take over Fiat.
The company began to face serious decline by the 1990s, struggling with less help from the government and tough competition from international automakers. In 2000, Fiat struck a deal with General Motors Corp., selling 20% of its auto operations to the U.S.-based automaker, with an option to sell the rest starting in 2005.
In January 2003, after Giovanni Agnelli died, the family named Umberto to take over. Many speculated that Umberto would be more willing to move the Agnellis out of the auto business. They were wrong.
Instead, he helped consolidate operations, selling off profitable group assets to focus above all on automobiles. Led by Morchio, Fiat saw its finances improve, though even company executives acknowledge there is a long way to go.
It was unclear who in the family might take over the reins, or if indeed the position would be held by an Agnelli at all. Two of Giovanni Agnelli’s grandsons have been prepared for future roles, but both are still in their 20s.
Turin Mayor Sergio Chiamparino declared today a day of mourning. A private funeral will be held this evening.
Umberto died in his home just outside Turin surrounded by his wife, Allegra, his son, Andrea, and daughter, Anna.
