01.06.2004 Sergio Marchionne, an independent member of the Fiat board since last May, has been named by Group Chairman Luca di Montezemolo as the new CEO

Sergio Marchionne, an independent member of the Fiat board since last May, was named as new chief executive officer earlier this afternoon.

The vacancy arose after Giuseppe Morchio, the incumbent CEO, resigned on Sunday after being passed over for the Chairman's job in favour of Luca di Montezemolo, the former Ferrari chief.

Montezemolo, one of the rising stars of Italian industry and new head of the employer's federation, was himself appointed after Umberto Agnelli succumbed to cancer late last Thursday.

With Montezemolo, a close friend of the Agnelli family, and Gianni's grandson, John Elkann now appointed Group Vice-Chairman, both very much upholders of the Fiat tradition, Marchinno, regarded as a very tough operator, is the ideal candidate to please the other shareholders and the banks that have assisted in the re-financing operation.

51-year-old Marchionne, who holds dual Italian and Canadian citizenship, is the CEO of SGS Group based in Geneva, Switzerland, where both the nett income and the share price has more than doubled since his appointment two years ago. Known to be a fast mover, he started turning around SGS within days of arriving, shedding 2,600 employees in this first year at the helm, while creating 1,305 new vacancies, mostly in emerging markets.

SGS ( Société Générale de Surveillance Holding ) Group, with a market value of 5.65 billion Swiss francs, is the world's largest verification, testing and certification organisation. Founded in 1878, SGS is the global benchmark for standards of expertise, quality and integrity. With more than 32,000 employees, SGS operates over 850 offices and 330 laboratories in 140 countries.

Marchionne graduated from the University of Toronto with a law degree, picked up a business degree from the Windsor University of Toronto, before joining the Canadian arm of Deliotte & Touche as an accountant.

He rose through ranks, before moving on to become CFO and then CEO of Alusuisse Lonza, and, after the merger of their aluminium and packaging business with Alcan, became CEO of the new Lonza Group Ltd.

Fiat shares rallied 3.4% during the morning as new of his appointment started to leak out.

Sergio Marchionne: 1978, BA, in Philosophy, Univ. of Toronto; BCom and MBA, Univ. of Windsor; LLB, Osgoode Hall Law School; CICA Tax Course. Certified Gen. Accountant, Chartered Accountant, Barrister & Solicitor. 1983-86, Chartered Accountant and Tax Specialist, Deloitte Touche; 1986, Group Corp. Controller, 1988, Dir., Corp. Development, Lawson Mardon Group; 1994-2000, VP, Corporate, CFO & CEO, Alusuisse Lonza, 1999, CFO, Lonza; since February 2002, Managing Director & Chief Executive, SGS.