Luca Di Montezemolo’s tenure as president of Ferrari appears to be drawing to a close as following the recent announcement that he will step down as Ferrari chairman beginning 13th October this year. Below is his resignation statement in full.
Ferrari will have an important role to play within the FCA Group in the upcoming flotation on Wall Street. This will open up a new and different phase which I feel should be spearheaded by the CEO of the Group.
This is the end of an era and so I have decided to leave my position as Chairman after almost 23 marvellous and unforgettable years in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari’s side in the 1970s.
My thanks, first and foremost, to the exceptional Ferrari women and men from the factory, the offices, the race tracks and the markets across the world. They were the real architects of the company’s spectacular growth, its many unforgettable victories and its transformation into one of the world’s strongest brands.
A warm farewell and my thanks also to all of our technical and commercial partners, our dealers across the globe and, most particularly, the clients and collectors whose passion I so wholeheartedly share.
But my thoughts go also to our fans who have always supported us with great enthusiasm especially through the Scuderia’s most difficult moments.
Ferrari is the most wonderful company in the world. It has been a great privilege and honour to have been its leader. I devoted all of my enthusiasm and commitment to it over the years. Together with my family, it was, and continues to be, the most important thing in my life.
I wish the shareholders, particularly Piero Ferrari who has always been by my side, and everyone in the Company the many more years of success that Ferrari deserves.”
Maranello, 10th September 2014.
Recently, there were reports that Luca Di Montezemolo was being forced out of the company after founding father Enzo Ferrari brought him in. However, Luca was quick to deny, adding that he had a contract for three years more and he would be the one to say when he was leaving.
“In March I told the shareholders and especially the people at Ferrari, who I’m very close to, that I would be available for another three years,” Montezemolo said. “If there is then anything new, I myself would be the first to say so.”
That comment didn’t seem to please Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Ferrari’s parent company Fiat and Chrysler. He warned Di Montezemolo that anyone, including himself, is not indispensable and the company would decide when he leaves.
“We are good friends but his statements, these are things I wouldn’t have said myself. On volume and economic results Luca has done an outstanding job. I [also] consider myself essential, of course. But I also know very well that I am at the service of this company. So to create positions, illusions that one can operate outside the rules, is talking rubbish” said Marchionne in a statement.
“It’s the same for him as it is for me; we serve the company. When the company has a change of plan, or if there is no longer a convergence of ideas, things change. Nobody is indispensable,” he added.
Marchionne also expressed his disappointment with the Ferrari F1 team’s performance quoting “unacceptable” and said it was “absolutely non-negotiable” that Ferrari should win Formula 1 races.
The public dispute between the two leaders probably caused Mr. Montezemolo’s sudden decision to step down from his role. The Wall Street Journal reports that he would get €13.7 million under a severance indemnity deal and €13.3 million for the remainder of his contract and an agreement not to compete until March 2017. His role as Ferrari Chairman will be replaced by Sergio Marchionne himself.
