Umberto Agnelli

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Agnelli

Umberto Agnelli (1 November 1934 – 27 May 2004) was an Italian entrepreneur and politician. His brother was Gianni Agnelli.

He served as a CEO of Fiat from 1970–1976 and senator of the Italian Republic, from 1976 to 1979, and was the honorary chairman of the Juventus soccer team, the past president of the Italian Football Association and later chairman of Italian carmaker Fiat from early 2003 until his death from lung cancer aged 69.

Business career

Agnelli was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, the youngest of seven children. His father Edoardo Agnelli died in an air crash when he was aged just one, and his mother perished in a car accident when he was 11. He was chairman of Juventus 1956–61, honorary chairman 1970–2004; chairman, Fiat France 1965–80; chief executive officer, Fiat SpA 1970–76, vice-president 1976–93, chairman, Fiat Auto 1980–90; member, International Advisory Board 1993–2004, chairman 2003–04. Though he was a senior executive in the family company, Fiat, he was sidelined from taking a leadership role by his brother Gianni until the latter's death in 2003. He then took over the Fiat Group, which also controlled several Italian newspapers and publishers, and the Juventus football club, of which he had served as chairman. Umberto Agnelli was in the process of restoring Fiat's balance sheet after the company's balance sheet, market share, and share value were all in decline, when he suddenly died of lung cancer after barely 18 months in control. Despite this, Forbes magazine estimated he was the world's 68th richest man with an approximate net worth of US$5.5 billion.

Personal life

He first married heiress Donna Antonella Bechi Piaggio in 1959, with whom he had three sons. The first, twin boys, died shortly after birth.

The third son Giovanni Alberto Agnelli was groomed to succeed at Fiat but died of cancer at the age of 33 in 1997. Giovanni was survived by his wife Avery Agnelli née Howe and a daughter Virginia Asia Agnelli.

Umberto and Antonella later divorced, and Umberto married Donna Allegra Caracciolo di Castagneto in 1974, who is the first cousin of his sister in law Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto. They had two children, a son named Andrea born in 1975, and a daughter Anna born in 1977. Andrea then went on to his father's footsteps by becoming chairman of Juventus in 2010.