[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 12, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN HONOR OF THE LIFE OF SERGIO MARCHIONNE

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 12, 2018

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the distinguished 
life of Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. I extend my sincerest 
sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of this gifted executive 
and business leader. My heart goes out to his children, Alessio and 
Tyler, as well as his partner Manuela Battezzato. Sergio and I had many 
interactions and conversations over the years and he is someone for 
whom I had the utmost respect.
  Thanks to his indefatigable attitude and remarkable dedication, he 
shepherded the company through very turbulent times. After 2004, he 
worked closely and gained the trust of the Administration leading to 
the auto rescue preserving a long tradition and legacy of automobiles 
in Toledo, and across the region.
  It will come as no surprise to the generations of workers in Toledo 
that Jeep continues to be named the `most patriotic' brand in America. 
Thanks to the leadership of Sergio Marchionne, today, Toledo's Fiat 
Chrysler Automobile's Assembly Complex is one of the region's largest 
and most modern manufacturing plants.
  Since 1941 when Willys-Overland first contracted with the United 
States Military to design the Willys MB, what would become the iconic 
Jeep Wrangler, Toledoans' life blood continues to run through every 
Jeep Wrangler in the world. And nearly 80 years later, our region's 
heritage and connection to Jeep grows stronger each day, being a part 
of and touching the lives of thousands of families.
  Mr. Marchionne uniquely understood the power of the Jeep brand as a 
sign of America's can-do and industrious culture, tripling annual sales 
of the brand to 1.9 million automobiles in seven years. As the proud 
home of the Jeep Liberty, the Toledo community expresses its deepest 
gratitude to him for his productive life, sparkling imagination and 
respectful manner to both management and workers. Indeed, he understood 
in order to create a truly high-quality, global brand, workers need be 
given first-order priority.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Marchionne surely left his mark on our community and 
throughout our auto-producing American Heartland. I am proud to join 
thousands of workers and others across the region in saluting his life 
and paying tribute to his legacy.

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