Giovanni Alberto Agnelli

Giovanni "Giovannino" Alberto Agnelli (April 19, 1964 – December 13, 1997) was an Italian businessman and member of the Agnelli family, an Italian industrial dynasty associated with Fiat. Agnelli's father was politician and industrialist Umberto Agnelli; his uncle was Fiat head Gianni Agnelli. Prior to his 1997 death at age 33, Giovanni was the heir apparent and designated future chairman of the Fiat group. According to the ''New York Times,'' his reputation among the Italian public was comparable to that of John F. Kennedy Jr. in the United States: "rich, strikingly handsome, always smiling and the leading voice of his generation."

Biography

Early life and career

Giovanni Alberto Agnelli was born on April 19, 1964, in Milan, Italy to Umberto Agnelli and . Both sides of his family were associated with the motor vehicle industry; Giovanni Alberto's paternal great–grandfather was Giovanni Agnelli, founder of Fiat while his mother's stepfather was Enrico Piaggio, son of Piaggio founder Rinaldo Piaggio.

Agnelli's parents divorced in 1974; the young Giovanni followed his mother to the United States where he attended The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Agnelli enrolled at Brown University as a member of the class of 1986 where he studied international relations. According to ''The Independent,'' Agnelli was often tipped as "Europe's most eligible bachelor" though in reality had "little interest in the playboy lifestyle."

Agnelli joined Piaggio in 1987. In 1993 Agnelli became president of the company, which he successfully turned around and built into a European market leader. In the summer of 1995, Gianni Agnelli officially announced Giovanni's selection as designated future chairman of Fiat. In the role, Agnelli distanced himself from his family and Italy's business establishment, calling for generational change, advocating for more competition from international investment banks in corporate finance, and pushing for increased transparency in Italian capitalism. In an interview with the ''New York Times,'' Agnelli stated "because of my education I am more Anglo-Saxon and that means I would like to see the financial markets ruling more and public company models ruled by the forces of the market."

Personal life and death

In 1996, Agnelli married Frances Avery Howe, an architect who Agnelli met when they were both students at Brown University. Frances gave birth to a child in September 1997; by this time, Agnelli was already experiencing advanced illness from a rare form of stomach cancer. Agnelli died in Turin on December 13, 1997. According to an obituary, Agnelli's death was a "setback for millions of Italians who saw him as a symbol of generational change, as a spokesman for the need to reform Italy's clubby and oligarchic system of capitalism and as an ardent supporter of political reforms."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnelli, Giovanni Alberto
1964 births
1997 deaths
People from Milan
Agnelli family
Italian industrialists
Brown University alumni
Deaths from cancer in Piedmont
Deaths from stomach cancer