Chrysler Group and Fiat CEO will be the keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies for the 2014 Canadian International AutoShow

TORONTO--Dec. 13, 2013: It's just two months until Sergio Marchionne returns to his hometown for what promises to be one of the highlight events on the auto industry calendar for 2014.

On Thursday, February 13, 2014, Sergio Marchionne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Chrysler Group LLC and CEO of Fiat S.p.A., will be the keynote speaker at the official opening ceremonies for the 2014 Canadian International AutoShow (CIAS) in Toronto.

The ceremonies will take place as part of media preview day at the CIAS venue in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The show will open to the public on February 14 and run through February 23, 2014.

Born in Italy, but raised and schooled in Toronto, Marchionne is acknowledged as one of the world's most successful business leaders, both within and outside the auto industry. Since Fiat's alliance with Chrysler, he has overseen the company's return not only to profitability but to a level of unprecedented product excellence and corresponding sales success.

Here in Canada, Chrysler has now achieved 48 consecutive months of year-over-year sales growth, the longest sales streak in the company's history.

Always on the move, Marchionne continues as Chairman of CNH Industrial N.V., the multinational company formed in 2013 through the combination of the companies that produce such brands as Iveco, Case and New Holland; he is working to reshape the Alfa Romeo brand; and is reimagining the most efficient use of production facilities around the world, even as he leads the globe-spanning alliance of automakers Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group LLC.

"Sergio Marchionne is among the most sought-after speakers in the auto industry and we are delighted that he has agreed to be our keynote speaker and to officially open the 2014 Canadian International AutoShow," said Frank Romeo, president of the CIAS.

Each year, one automaker acts as the official host of the show, representing all the manufacturers and staging the opening ceremonies. For 2014, Chrysler Canada will fulfill that role.

The Canadian International AutoShow, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2013, is the largest and most important auto show in Canada, typically attracting more than 300,000 attendees and in excess of 1,000 accredited media representatives.

It is also one of the premier auto shows within North America and internationally.