Follow Gianni Agnelli's instincts.(Opinion)(Obituary)

Automotive News Europe,  February, 2003  

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GIANNI AGNELLI, who died last month at age 81, had a special relationship with Henry Ford II, who died in 1987.

They were great friends; true pals who ran in the same lofty European social circles.

Both were forced into leadership roles at family companies that needed to be rebuilt after World War II.

At first glance neither seemed fit for the job. As young men they seemed more suited to lives of leisure than lives of leadership. They were very different from the hard men hired to manage their companies, executives such as Vittorio Valletta and Lee Iacocca.

They were ...

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