02.06.2004 "My only objective is to do the best bloody job that I can and I'm going to do that at Fiat" new CEO Sergio Marchionne is relishing the job of turning Fiat around

"Fiat needs to get fixed and I think I'm the right one to fix it," expressed Sergio Marchionne today in his first meeting with the press since being named the Fiat Group's new CEO yesterday.

He promised to do "the best bloody job" and would concentrate on returning Fiat to being a famous brand, rather than indulging in another round of heavy cost cutting, something that has concerned Italy's powerful unions since the announcement was made.

``The cost-cutting side has been one of the primary objectives of my predecessor. I'm much more interested in growth and the repositioning of the car business. I think that Fiat needs to come back as a great brand,'' Marchionne said.

The Italian-born Canadian citizen was speaking at a meeting this morning to present his successor, Werner Pluss, as CEO of Swiss inspection, certification and validation company, SGS Group.

Upbeat and confident he can rise to the challenge of turning around an industrial giant with more than thirty times the revenue of SGS, he commented it was a challenge of a "different magnitude". He was bullish when questioned over his lack of experience in the automotive sector, "I've never had any experience in any of the industries I've been in," he replied, "But I still turned things around."

With a reputation as a tough no-nonsense operator, he however stated that the was acutely aware of Fiat's political position in the Italian landscape and the strength of the domestic unions. "I've learned how to pace change according to the environment. There are things that you can and cannot do in the U.S. and Canada that you cannot do in Italy. We have to be careful and we are aware of that,''

Meanwhile Fiat shares have responded strongly to the appointment, building on a sharp 4.6% rise yesterday, they were up more than 2% in this morning's trading.

Statement from Fiat Spa, Turin, 01/06/2004: The Board of Directors of Fiat met today under the chairmanship of Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, and appointed Sergio Marchionne as Chief Executive Officer. Since May 2003, Mr. Marchionne has been serving in the Board as an independent director.

The Board finally resolved to postpone to a subsequent meeting the cooption of a Director who meet the requirements of independence.