Manley set to follow legendary CEO – again

It is not easy to succeed a legend. Mike Manley is about to do it a second time.

In July 2018, Manley was propelled to the CEO seat following the untimely death of Sergio Marchionne of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. This time around, Manley is set to take over from fellow Automotive Hall of Fame Mike Jackson, who ran AutoNation Inc. for more than two decades.

In Monday’s issue, Jackson describes how the transition will play out at America’s largest dealer group on November 1: “Mike, here’s the parking spot. Boom. I’m getting out, he’s coming.”

If that happens, everything promises to be a little less complicated than what happened in early 2019, when Jackson went into great detail as to why he chose an outsider in the industry, Carl Liebert, as its own successor.

At the time, Jackson pointed out that Liebert stood out for the strengths that Jackson lacked, namely supply chain knowledge and digital intelligence. These skills were seen as essential if AutoNation was to be successful in a changing world. Within five months Liebert was gone and Jackson described the selection as “a bridge too far.”

This time around, we can’t help but notice how Jackson and Manley’s paths are alike.

Jackson is a former dealership technician who later joined Mercedes-Benz USA. Manley began his career in the automotive retail world in his native UK before joining DaimlerChrysler.

Jackson, 72, ran Mercedes-Benz USA before being hired by AutoNation in 1999. As noted above, Manley was Managing Director of Fiat Chrysler until the position was swept away in this year’s merger. with the automaker PSA who created Stellantis.

Of course, Manley, 57, showed no love for the spotlight which has placed Jackson and Marchionne among the industry’s most outspoken and recognized personalities.

But this is not a critical element for success.

Just look at Earl Hesterberg. The former Nissan and Ford executive has quietly and efficiently run Group 1 Automotive Inc., another large publicly traded dealer group, since 2005.

– Dave versical