MILAN – John Elkann inherited the leadership of Italy’s most famous industrial family as a 28-year-old with limited work experience and the immediate task of saving an almost bankrupt Fiat.
Now, more than 16 years later, Mr. Elkann is on the cusp of completing the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and manufacturer Peugeot PSA Group. The deal, which is expected to make it the world’s third-largest carmaker by selling vehicles, seals Elkann’s legacy and puts an end to his family’s undisputed control over the Italian-American carmaker and previous incarnations of the company.
Shareholders of both companies will have to approve the merger on Monday and the closure could come as early as the end of this month, according to people familiar with the situation. The new company will be called Stellantis, which incorporates a Latin word meaning “star lighting” and will present Mr Elkann with new challenges, including managing relations between major shareholders.
Mr. Elkann, who is the president of Fiat Chrysler and will take the same position at Stellantis, has become a skilled business maker since he rose to the top of the family in 2004. Although his transformation from a recent College graduate who rarely spoke in public at the key figure behind the automotive industry’s largest supply in decades has not arrived smoothly.
Grandson of Gianni Agnelli and the fifth generation of the dynasty that helped found Fiat in 1899, Mr. Elkann negotiated a previously planned merger with Renault SA. He then pulled the plug after deciding that the French state, a Renault shareholder, was too cumbersome a partner.