(Bloomberg) -- The boards of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Ferrari NV are scheduled to meet Saturday to name successors to Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, according to people familiar with the matter.
The meetings follow a weeks-long medical leave for Marchionne, 66, who underwent surgery on his shoulder earlier this month. Marchionne has said he’ll retire next year, and Fiat Chrysler has said an internal candidate will replace him. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer, Europe chief Alfredo Altavilla and Mike Manley, the head of the Jeep and Ram brands, are the top contenders for the job.
Fiat Chrysler has been facing questions about Marchionne’s health for almost a month -- his last public appearance was June 26, when he spoke at an event in Rome. The company said on July 5 that the CEO underwent an operation on his right shoulder and was expected to require “a short period of convalescence.”
A premature departure for Marchionne could be a significant blow to Fiat Chrysler. The executive saved Fiat from potential collapse more than a decade ago and later engineered its acquisition of the U.S. carmaker Chrysler.
Ferrari will name Louis Carey Camilleri, a board member and former chairman of Philip Morris International, its CEO, Automotive News reported, citing a source familiar with the decision.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tommaso Ebhardt in Milan at tebhardt@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Craig Trudell
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