Fiat chairman Umberto Agnelli dies of cancer

Fiat Chairman Umberto Agnelli, who helped lead his family’s vast Turin-based carmaker out of hard times and into better financial shape, has died of cancer little more than a year after taking the company’s top position, a Fiat spokesman said. He was 69.

He died late yesterday, Fiat spokesman Raffaello Porro said today. The company acknowledged that Agnelli was undergoing serious treatment for cancer last month.

Agnelli, who was long sidelined in his family’s auto empire, got his chance to take over after his elder brother Giovanni “Gianni” Agnelli died in January 2003. That death came after a dramatic decline in the company, whose stock price and market share was in a major slump.

In February, Umberto Agnelli spoke with delight about the company’s improved financial results.

“What gives us a certain satisfaction is that, despite significant losses, we can still see notable improvements in the fourth quarter due to the work that’s been done,” he said then.