The World's Best CEOs

In the right hands, big turnarounds do happen.

By Mark Gimein of The Big Money

Once upon a time, there was a car company that was one of the world’s sickest. Its managers spent their time fighting one another. The one thing its workers did most reliably was go on strike. Its bankers debated how big a bailout would keep it out of bankruptcy.

The company was Fiat. Yes, the same Fiat that is now taking over Chrysler. What kind of shape was Fiat in? Well, back in 2000, General Motors (GM) had signed a deal to buy Fiat. Then when the deal was supposed to close, in 2005, GM decided it was hopeless. “Being forced to buy Fiat,” Business Week reported, was “GM’s nightmare scenario.” To avoid having to go through with the purchase, GM paid Fiat $2 billion just to get out of the deal. Most folks thought it was money well spent.

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