Former Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has died at age 66.
Marchionne had been CEO until being forced to retire Saturday because of his health. Marchionne had shoulder surgery last month, but his condition worsened in recent days.
Kelley Blue Book executive analyst Rebecca Lindland said despite his illness, Marchionne's death was a shock.
"I saw Sergio back in June in Italy, at the beginning of June, and it's just incredible to think that he's not with us anymore. It really is. It's very surreal," Lindland told Stateside.
The FCA board chose Jeep division head Mike Manley as its next CEO shortly after his retirement. Marchionne had planned to retire next year, and Manley had already been in the running to replace him.
Lindland said Marchionne left a big mark on the automotive industry.
"First of all, he really brought Fiat, the company, back from near death in 2004 when he took over in Italy," said Lindland. "It was a company that was struggling. General Motors actually owned 20 percent of it at the time, and then they were like what are we doing here? This is not long for this world. And Marchionne took it over and was able to revitalize it."
