The Renaissance

C. Olivetti & Co. sprang a surprise at last week's annual shareholders' meeting. First, in a country where fiscal secrecy is the rule, there were some proud announcements of sales and earnings. For the Italian mother company, profits rose from $7,000,000 in '65 to nearly $11 million in '66. Worldwide, Olivetti sales last year reached $508 million, up $62 million over '65. (Observers estimate that Olivetti's global profits were $16 million last year, up about 40%.) Next came the surprise: a change of top-level management in the wake of success. Out as chief executive officer went Aurelio Peccei, 58, the man generally credited with Olivetti's recent resurgence. He was named to the honorary post of vice chairman. Appointed joint managing directors were Robert Olivetti, 38, grandson of the company's founder, and Bruno Jarach, 55, an engineer risen through the ranks.

Olivetti's 52,892 employees make and sell typewriters, special-purpose adding and calculating machines, teleprinters, accounting machines, small electronic computers and steel office furniture. The company has seven factories in Italy, others in the U.S. (through the subsidiary Olivetti-Underwood Corp.), Scotland, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and South Africa. Three years ago, Olivetti was in real trouble. It had to pump millions into Olivetti-Underwood. It was also afflicted by Olivetti family feuding, swelling costs, and a painful Italian recession. New life came in 1964 when a syndicate headed by Fiat's Giovanni Agnelli put $50 million into Olivetti stock, installed Peccei, a rising Fiat executive, as managing director.

He streamlined Olivetti's operations, cut losses, started making money again. Increasingly adaptable, Olivetti is negotiating construction of a calculator factory in Russia, plans new plants in Argentina, Brazil and Harrisburg, Pa.

With all that done and doing, Peccei, who has retained a top management job with Fiat, feels he has met his challenge at Olivetti, wants to devote more time to personal interests.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.