Sergio Marchionne was not named European business leader of the year this month for sartorial elegance. At a black-tie gathering, the chief executive of Fiat showed up tieless and in his trademark pullover.

He was wearing more or less the same outfit, set off by unruly greying hair, when interviewed by the Financial Times soon after that event (in which the FT was also involved). In fashion-mad and super-smart Italy, Mr Marchionne’s wardrobe is much discussed. But not as much as the turnround he has engineered at the country’s largest private-sector employer.