Ferrari NV has started to search for a new chief executive officer to resolve its second leadership crisis in as many years after Louis Camilleri abruptly resigned, complicating the Italian supercar maker’s transition toward electric mobility.
Ferrari has scheduled a board meeting next week to discuss the replacement process, according to people familiar with the matter. Chairman John Elkann will for now take the role on an interim basis. He has to find a new leader just 30 months after picking Camilleri to succeed Sergio Marchionne, who died in July 2018 from complications after a surgery.
Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera is among the potential internal candidates after leading Ferrari’s sales efforts for the past decade, the people said, declining to be named because the deliberations are private. A spokesman for Ferrari declined to comment.
Camilleri, 65, is leaving after he had to be hospitalized for Covid-19. He’s recovering at home and the infection wasn’t the main reason for his exit, a company spokesman said, without elaborating. Camilleri also stepped down as chairman of Philip Morris International Inc.
His departure comes at a difficult time for the former unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. The coronavirus pandemic has depressed auto sales just as the industry is shifting away from the internal combustion engine -- a key feature of the high-powered Ferrari cars.
Ferrari declined 0.7% at 12:11 p.m. in Milan, valuing the company at about 34 billion euros ($41 billion). The stock has gained about a fifth this year, for the best performance in the Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts Index.
Whoever becomes new CEO will have “big shoes to fill,” Angus Tweedie, an analyst at Citigroup, said in a note. He pointed to questions about whether the company can achieve its 2022 profitability targets, roll out new models including the PuroSangue SUV and shift the supercar maker toward an emissions-free fleet.
Camilleri was a Ferrari board member when he took over as CEO from Marchionne, who died within days of being replaced. Marchionne orchestrated Ferrari’s 2016 spin-off from Fiat Chrysler, where he also served as CEO.
Ferrari has managed the pandemic better than expected, fielding orders for its six- and seven-figure supercars at rates similar to last year, the company said in November.
Ferrari Transformation
During his stint as CEO, Camilleri oversaw the transformation of Ferrari into a fully fledged luxury brand. He revamped Ferrari’s lineup so it could keep boosting prices. The company introduced five new models in 2019, which helped increase annual sales to more than 10,000 units for the first time.