John Elkann

John Philip Jacob Elkann (born 1 April 1976) is an American-born Italian industrialist. In 1997, he became the chosen heir of his maternal grandfather Gianni Agnelli, following the death of Gianni's nephew Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, and since 2004 has been leading the Agnelli family, an Italian multi-industry business dynasty. The Agnelli family has been described in media as comparable to the Kennedy family in terms of prominence in national affairs.

Elkann chairs the automaker Stellantis and is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Exor, the holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, which also holds a controlling stake in Ferrari, CNH Industrial, Iveco Group, Juventus FC, and The Economist Group. In July 2018, he was appointed chairman of Ferrari, and briefly served as CEO from 2020 to 2021. In 2021, Elkann oversaw the merger between Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group. He is the leader of a group that controls 14 brands, with production sites in 29 countries, employs 400,000 people, and is present in over 130 markets.

Early life and family

Born in New York City on 1 April 1976, Elkann held both Italian and U.S. citizenship; he renounced the latter in 2012. He is the eldest son of Alain Elkann, a New York-born journalist and writer of French-Jewish origin and Italian-Jewish background, and his Italian wife Margherita Agnelli. His parents divorced in 1981 and both have remarried. Elkann's maternal grandparents were the head of Fiat S.p.A., Gianni Agnelli, and the socialite Marella Agnelli (born Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto); his great-grandfather was the industrialist Edoardo Agnelli, and his great-great-grandfather was Giovanni Agnelli, founder of Fiat S.p.A. His paternal great-grand-uncle was the banker Ettore Ovazza. He has a brother, Lapo Elkann, and a sister, Ginevra Elkann.