Cesare Romiti

Cesare Romiti

Cesare Romiti (24 June 1923 - 18 August 2020) was an Italian economist and businessman. He was best known as an executive of both state-owned firms and private companies, including Fiat and Alitalia. He acquired the nickname Il Duro ("The Tough Guy") referring to his management style while he was serving as the head of Fiat.

Quotes

• (About Gustavo Adolfo Rol) He would always say to me, 'Romiti, don't go there!'

He had been terrified of Rol ever since he had heard him advise a mutual friend not to take the plane to Rome in Venice.

That plane crashed, and his friend died.

• As quoted in Aldo Cazzullo, Gustavo Rol spariva (e ricompariva): l'ultimo mago amato e temuto dai potenti (Agnelli ne era terrorizzato), corriere.it, 30 May 2021.

• Interviewer: What remains of Agnelli [...]?»}} Romiti: First of all, a lesson in style. It wasn't just a question of aesthetics, or of fashion. Of course, he had an exceptional eye for art.

And he would introduce small details of appearance that his sycophants would immediately imitate, such as wearing a tie over a jumper. But for Agnelli, style was substance. It was about behaviour, and also about moral values that were deeply rooted in him thanks to his upbringing and his grandfather's example. He was completely incapable of telling lies. This also caused problems. [...] He rarely took part in trade union negotiations. When he did attend, however, he let slip how far Fiat could go. Of course, that's something you never do. However, for him, it was unthinkable not to always tell the truth; that was how he had been brought up. He judged people on their style.

• From an interview by Aldo Cazzullo, Corriere della Sera, 19 January 2013; quoted in Romiti, con Gianni Agnelli «senza mai darci del tu», corriere.it, 18 August 2020.

Interviews

From an interview by Paolo Madron, Io, Cuccia e l'Avvocato: ecco la verità, Il Sole 24 Ore, 15 February 2009; quoted in ilsole24ore.com, 18 August 2020

• From a financial point of view, the publishing industry is certainly not doing well these days.

The problem is that, in this country Template:NDR, the press is seen as an instrument of power. So, in return, you might even lose money.

• I held Ghidella in high esteem, so much so that when he told me he couldn't work with Nicola Tufarelli as editor-in-chief of L'Auto, I recommended the lawyer that we should choose him.

I held him in high esteem, both as a person and for his dedication to his work. I was struck by the fact that he used to eat in his locker in the evening, like an old mechanic from Turin. Interviewer: But he didn't hesitate to get rid of him without mercy. Romiti: His dismissal was the result of events that I have never revealed and do not intend to reveal now. Agnelli appointed two trusted individuals to adjudicate the dispute: Franzo Grande Stevens and Vittorio Chiusano. After twenty days, they sent him a letter, and the Avvocato told me that Ghidella had to leave Fiat.

• Interviewer: Why is the Corriere della Sera the centre of the world for us? Romiti: Well, it's the newspaper the middle classes identified with. Everyone wanted a foot in the door there.
• (About Enzo Ferrari) Once, while we were having lunch in Fiorano, he said to me: "I know you're building a career and you'll be a very successful man. But remember that there must always be a woman by the side of a successful man." I looked at him, he paused for a moment, and then he added, "Of course, you'll need to change her every now and then."

Quotes about

• Cesare Romiti [...] was without doubt the most important business leader in Italian history. He led Fiat like a king for 25 years, from 1976 to the end of the century. He achieved spectacular results, defeated numerous internal opponents, even kept Gianni Agnelli under his control, outmanoeuvred the trade unions, and stood up to the prosecutors. His story is truly rich in insights, decisions and successes. He brought about two turning points in Italy: the first in 1980, when he put an end to the historic compromise, defeating Berlinguer, the Christian Democrats and the power of the trade unions; and the second in 1992–1993, when he gave the green light to the Milan prosecutors’ pool and to the destruction of the First Republic. Romiti changed Italy in a clear, radical way. For the better? Perhaps. More likely for the worse.

• Piero Sansonetti, quoted in Ritratto di Cesare Romiti, padrone d’Italia che sconfisse Berlinguer e si inchinò a Di Pietro, IlRiformista.it, 19 August 2020.

• Alongside Romiti, I would like to commemorate the hundreds of workers who sadly committed suicide in the 1980s as a result of discrimination and lay-offs. Our defeat and Romiti's victory marked the turning point that made Italy what it is today: a free-market country where the market and big business hold total sway, and where workers are constantly exploited in the name of profit. Romiti's success was a step backwards, like Thatcher's in Britain and Reagan's in the US.

• Giorgio Cremaschi, quoted in Angela Stella, Giorgio Cremaschi: “Per la linea dura di Romiti molti operai si uccisero”, ilRiformista.it, 19 August 2020.

• He was never a right-wing politician. He was a man of power within the centre-left elite. He played a key role in the liberal shift that took place both among the leadership of the trade unions and among the left-wing leadership. Prodi, D'Alema and the like are Romiti's disciples, not his enemies.

• Giorgio Cremaschi, quoted in Angela Stella, Giorgio Cremaschi: “Per la linea dura di Romiti molti operai si uccisero”, ilRiformista.it, 19 August 2020.

• You don't become an automotive engineer overnight at the age of sixty.

• Vittorio Ghidella, quoted in Salvatore Tropea, Ghidella, il manager Fiat che voleva anticipare Marchionne in America, la Repubblica, 19 March 2011.