Sergio Marchionne pledged on Wednesday to fix the fortunes of Fiat, Italy's biggest industrial group, and said he would resign as chairman of Swiss chemicals group Lonza to concentrate on the task.
"As part of my nature, I like to fix things and to be blunt, Fiat needs a fix right now. How that will turn out, only the future will tell," he told a news conference at inspection services group SGS, where he has resigned as chief executive following his appointment as Fiat CEO on Tuesday.
His first task at the Turin-based tractor-to-components group would be to overhaul its flagship automotive division, he said. "The primary objective of the day is to turn around Fiat autos," he said.
Marchionne said he planned to speed up the turnaround of the 105-year old conglomerate, which aims to return to an operating profit next year and a net profit in 2006.
He added he did not know whether job cuts would be needed to achieve his aims.
"I have to be very careful with things. This is a big animal. It is complex, it is a big industry, it has a huge amount of history," he said. "Today is not a day to promise anything".
Marchionne has made a name for himself as a hard task master who sets tough targets and expects people to meet them. In just over two years at SGS, he stripped down management layers to save cash. As chairman of chemicals maker Lonza, he instigated the departure of its CEO when results plunged.
Shares in Lonza dipped slightly after the future Fiat manager said he would quit as Lonza chairman after this year, but quickly regained their footing and were trading 0.7 percent higher at 0800 GMT, in line with the broader Swiss market.
"I will exit from Lonza. This will be my last year," Marchionne said.
Commenting on SGS, his most recent turnaround feat, Marchionne said he was confident the group would reach its 2005 targets under his successor Werner Pluss.
Marchionne turned SGS into one of the best performers on the blue chip Swiss Market Index since his appointment in 2002, boosting margins and chopping away at costly management layers. He will remain at the group as vice chairman.
With its restructuring largely completed, SGS has been eager to expand and has recently made a number of small acquisitions.
"The targets that we set out for ourselves in 2005 will be achieved under (Werner Pluss') leadership," said Marchionne.
SGS aims for sales of three billion francs by 2005, earnings per share of 45 francs and an operating margin of 16 percent, up from 12.2 percent in 2003.