Who is John Elkann? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: John Philip Jacob Elkann

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Lavinia Borromeo (m. 2004)

father: Alain Elkann

mother: Margherita Agnelli

siblings: Anna de Pahlen, Ginevra Elkann, Lapo Elkann, Maria de Pahlen, Pietro de Pahlen, Sofia de Pahlen, Tatiana de Pahlen

children: Leone Mosé Elkann, Oceano Noah Elkann, Vita Talita Elkann

Born Country: United States

CEOs Family Members

Ancestry: French Italian, American Italian, Italian American

Notable Alumni: Polytechnic University Of Turin

U.S. State: New Yorkers

More Facts

education: Polytechnic University Of Turin

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

Career

While pursuing his graduation degree, John Elkann took several internships to gain valuable work experience. These consist of car dealership in Lille, France, headlight plant in Birmingham, England, production line in Tychy, Poland, and at GE's CIG (corporate initiatives group) where he worked on a thesis on e-auctions.

In December 1997, John Elkann's grandfather Gianni Agnelli chose him to take over the place of Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, the son of Gianni's younger brother, Umberto, who passed away at the young age of 33, within the family business. Pushed by the family tragedy, he entered the world of the automotive industry and joined the Fiat Board at at the age of 21. After completing his graduation from Politecnico di Torino, he took part in General Electric's Corporate Audit program. He left the program two years later.

In 2003, he joined IFIL, (now known as EXOR) and worked hard to turn around the FIAT Group. He played an instrumental role in the appointment of the current FCA CEO, Sergio Marchionne, in May 2004.

In 2003, John Elkann became the vice chairman of Fiat after the death of his grandfather Gianni Agnelli and in the subsequent year, he became the vice chairman of Giovanni Agnelli Sapaz after the death of his great uncle Umberto Agnelli.

In 2010, he became the Chairman of Fiat S.p.A. and Giovanni Agnelli Sapaz. He was elected as the CEO and Chairman of EXOR in February 2011. He also holds the position of Chairman of Ferrari and is the board member of ‘The Economist Group’ and ‘Partner Re’

Recommended Lists:

Aries Entrepreneurs

Italian Entrepreneurs

American Entrepreneurs

Aries Men

Continue Reading Below

Awards & Honours

He was awarded the Appeal of Conscience Award by Appeal of Conscience Foundation in September 2010.

In 2013, he was included in the list of world's most influential managers under the age of 40 by Fortune.

Family & Personal Life

John Elkann was born on 1 April 1976, in New York, to Alain Elkann and his then-wife, Margherita Agnelli, a member of the clan once seen as Italy's uncrowned royal family. His father was a journalist. His parents got divorced in 1981 and both of them have then remarried. His maternal grandparents were the industrialist Gianni Agnelli and the Italian socialite Marella Agnelli.

He has a sister, Ginevra, and a brother, Lapo, and also five half-siblings from his mother's second marriage to Serge de Pahlen. Lapo is an Italian businessman while Ginevra holds an influential position in the Italian film industry.

John Elkann did his primary schooling from the United Kingdom and then from Brazil before he moved with his family to Paris, France. There he received a Baccalauréat Scientifique at the State School Lycée Victor-Duruy in 1994.

Later on, in the same year, he transferred to Italy to attend the Politecnico di Torino in Turin, where he obtained his graduation with a degree in management engineering in 2000. His upbringing across the major cities of Europe has made him fluent in four languages (English, French, Italian and Portuguese).

John Elkann is married to married Lavinia Borromeo. Lavinia belongs from the distinguished aristrocratic family, the House of Borromeo.

They had a Roman Catholic marriage ceremony in the Cappella Bianca on Isola Madre, one of the Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore. The couple has three children, two sons, Leone Mose and Oceano Noah and daughter named Vita (Talita. Their births took place in Turin at S.Anna's Hospital.

John Elkann Biography