Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli Confirms Departure
April 30 2009 - 2:14PM
Dow Jones News
Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Bob Nardelli confirmed Thursday he
will leave the auto maker after it completes the bankruptcy
protection process.
Nardelli, who took over the leadership role on Aug. 6, 2007,
said he decided that now was the time to announce his departure and
that he wasn't asked to step down by the Obama administration. He
will return to Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management as an
adviser.
"Now is an appropriate time to let others take the lead in the
transformation of Chrysler with Fiat," Nardelli said in a
statement, referring to the alliance agreement with the Italian
auto maker. "I will work closely with all of our stakeholders to
see that this new company swiftly emerges with a successful closing
of the alliance."
The exit of Nardelli, the former Home Depot CEO, clears the way
for Fiat SpA (FIATY) CEO Sergio Marchionne to either take over the
top spot or name a successor. Fiat will contribute advanced
technology and offer Chrysler access to a global distribution
network. The Italian company will get an initial 20% equity stake
in the reorganized company.
Nardelli foreshadowed his own departure on April 17 when he sent
a letter to employees telling them that Chrysler's future
leadership would be decided jointly by the U.S. government and
Fiat. The two entities will appoint a new board of directors.
"The board will have the responsibility to appoint a chairman,"
Nardelli said in the letter. "The board also will select a CEO with
Fiat's concurrence."
One possible successor could be Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda, who
knows the company's manufacturing operations and has earned
widespread respect from both United Auto Worker and Canadian Auto
Worker union members since he was an hourly line worker in
Canada.
He joined Chrysler in 2000 as a group vice president after 23
years at General Motors Corp. (GM) LaSorda was named CEO in 2005
but then stepped aside when Nardelli was installed as CEO by
Cerberus.
The future of Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press is also unclear
since he was also installed by Cerberus in September 2007 after a
long career at Toyota Motor Corp. (TM).
-By Jeff Bennett, Dow Jones Newswires;
jeff.bennett@dowjones.com; 248-204-5542