Leadership Crisis

There is a leadership crisis when there is an unplanned succession. Who will take over? How will the company change? What’s to become of its market position? That is the worry Fiat Chrysler found itself in over the weekend. Its long-time and popular CEO was suddenly replaced because of ill health. He had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago but something went wrong. The report did not mention if he was fighting for his life, but no matter, there was an urgent need for a new CEO. Mike Manley, 54, who spearheaded the growth of Jeep and RAM trucks over the past decade, has taken over in an internal succession. The directors of the company seemed to have been prepared for succession, which is not always the case. There will now be a testing period for Manley to see how well he can run the entire organization. With luck and skill he will be OK.