Agnelli prepares the heir. (Rome).(Giovanni Agnelli appoints John Philip Elkman to Fiat S.p.A.)(Brief Article)

Europe, September, 2002 by d'Aquino, Niccolo

Being an heir apparent is not an easy job. John Philip Elkann, nicknamed Jaki, who was horn twenty-six years ago in New York, knows this well. In his case, the leadership of the Agnelli family-controlled Fiat Group is a doubly heavy weight to carry. First, because he wasn't the designated heir: two tragic deaths forced his grandfather, the powerful but elderly and ailing patriarch Giovanni Agnelli, known as l'Avvocato (the Lawyer), to push him onto the launching pad. Elkann became the obligatory choice after the Lawyer's nephew, also named Giovanni Agnelli, who was the true apple of his uncle's eye, died of a rare form of cancer at age thirty-three in 1997. The Lawyer's son, Edoardo, who never distinguished himself as a future leader of the company, committed suicide...

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