richardmayo Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 DETROIT - Chrysler's new private owners have picked former Home Depot boss Bob Nardelli to head the No. 3 U.S. automaker in its effort to return to financial health, a person close to the process said Sunday. The board of the reorganized Chrysler LLC elected Nardelli as chairman and chief executive, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the appointment was to be officially announced Monday. Nardelli, who became chief executive of The Home Depot Inc. in 2000, resigned abruptly in January after criticism over his pay and the company's slumping share price. Former Chrysler executive Wolfgang Bernhard, a senior adviser to Cerberus, had been widely expected to be named chairman. He was offered a position with the company but elected not to accept it, the person said. Tom LaSorda, who led Chrysler as a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, was named vice chairman and president of Chrysler, reporting to Nardelli, the person said. Chrysler's chief operating officer, Eric Ridenour, decided to leave the automaker after 23 years, the person said. On Friday, DaimlerChrysler transferred an 80.1 percent stake in Chrysler to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management LP, one of the world's largest private equity companies, in a $7.4 billion deal. The German automaker, which is to be renamed Daimler AG, retained a 19.9 percent interest in Chrysler. Nardelli's wide-ranging business experience and the fact that he happened to be available led Cerberus officials to snap him up, the person said. United Auto Workers leaders were consulted on Nardelli's selection and gave their approval, the person said. His compensation at Chrysler will be based solely on the success of bringing the automaker back to financial health, the person said. Besides Nardelli and LaSorda, the 11-member Chrysler board now includes representatives from Cerberus and DaimlerChrysler, as well as independent directors, the person said. AP Story via Yahoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 The guy who took a huge paycheck without results? Oh noes! PS welcome to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 On the other thread about the deal closing I said that it was hard to tell what Cerberus was doing with the mixed messages about adding Bernhard but being private equity. Forget about that. Now we've got a non-automotive person who doesn't exactly seem to be a "company first" type of person, LaSorda is demoted, and Riddenour is out. Yeah. I'm glad I don't work for Chrysler. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 (edited) Look like that "return of Plymouth" isn't going to happen, as the dreamers at Allpar.com predicted! And there won't be a Cuda version of the new Challager, nor a Road Runner. Another thing, Mopar isn't going to re-manufacture all the old muscle cars as some were expecting also! Edited August 6, 2007 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardmayo Posted August 6, 2007 Author Share Posted August 6, 2007 Thanks for the 'welcome'. His selection makes Cerberus' intentions pretty clear to me - which isn't a good sign for the Chrysler faithful. Here' some more discussion about it at Autoblog Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 (edited) The Allpar 'faithful' and "Hemi heads", and "Bring back Plymouth, Imperial, and DeSoto" better wake up and smell the Cafe Latte'. Too many are stuck on memorizing old car trivia and not looking at the real world. No way will they "go back to all RWD cars", "Bring back Plymouth as a "value brand", "braing Imperial abck to compete with Caddy and Benz" Reason l am making fun of them is that the 'faithful' think that simply having "American ownership" is the ONLY way for Mopar to 'return to glory'. But, the new owners are in it for $$$, not bringing back old cars, or winning drag races. Edited August 6, 2007 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Would you like a bag of screws and a cordless drill to go with your new Dodge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 (edited) Predictions: These will die soon: Aspen, Pacifica, Magnum, Crossfire, and maybe Durango. Quick fix-ups: Sebring, Avenger, Commander, and all interiors. The UAW and Mopar dealers selling only used rentals will be told to 'f off'. Dodge will pull out of NASCAR. Wont see ever: New Plymouths, DeSotos, Imperials, nor any Cudas, Road Runners, and bigger Hemi V8's. And mid size or compact RWD cars. What gearheads want and what sells are two differnent things. Edited August 7, 2007 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TStag Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Shame I really liked the Plymouth Road Runner and would love to see a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Oval Teen Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 WHAT ARE THEY THINKING AT CHRYSLER? Another auto industry outsider is brought to Detroit, this time courtesy of Cerberus Last year the auto industry was stunned when Alan Mulally was hired as Ford’s CEO because he had no automotive experience, having spent his entire career at Boeing. We got a dose of déjà vu as Chrysler announced its new CEO is Bob Nardelli, who was ousted earlier this year as CEO of Home Depot. Nardelli also has zero auto experience. What are they thinking at Chrysler? Or perhaps we should ask, what are they thinking at Cerberus Capital Management, Chrysler’s new owner as of Friday? On the surface, Nardelli looks like tarnished goods. During his five years at Home Depot, he alienated employees, suppliers and stockholders. Arguably, he also alienated customers since the company’s sales declined for the first time in its 20-year history. The company’s stock fell 8 percent, while competitor Lowe’s stock more than doubled. The board of directors finally showed Nardelli the door, though to soften the blow he received a $210 million severance package. News reports say Nardelli was brought to Chrysler because of his experience at General Electric, where he spent most of his career before being passed over to replace Jack Welch as chairman. But one wonders how Nardelli’s GE experience has prepared him to lead an auto company. Nardelli is accused of being arrogant, abrasive and a bean-counter who fails to see the big picture. For example, one of his initiatives to increase sales at Home Depot was to boost sales per employee by cutting staff, reducing incentives and using more part-timers in place of full-time employees. The effort demoralized staff and severely hurt customer service. Another criticism is he flips between management fads. At a news conference yesterday to celebrate the company’s new ownership as well as introduce Nardelli to Chrysler employees and the media, Nardelli said one of his goals is to "monetize some assets" of Chrysler that may not be fully valued. Monetize assets? That’s not a comment that will inspire employees, customers and dealers. Nardelli would have made a better first impression by talking about vehicle design, product development, manufacturing, customer satisfaction, quality, marketing or any number of other issues related to improving Chrysler’s products and operations. Saying he wants to "monetize some assets" will prompt observers, especially employees, to suspect Cerberus plans a short-term ownership of Chrysler, during which it will strip assets and then sell the company. This is a scenario many people feared financier Kirk Kerkorian had planned for General Motors last year when he acquired 9.9 percent of the world’s largest automaker. Cerberus repeatedly has said its investment in Chrysler is for the long run. The track record of industry outsiders coming to the auto industry is poor. Until last year, no outsider had ever been hired as the CEO of an auto company. Now it’s happened twice. Over at Ford, it’s too early to evaluate Mulally’s performance after 11 months on the job, but he’s has proven a quick study, endeared himself to his many stakeholders, and brought a sense of stability to the blue oval. Cerberus doesn’t want stability at Chrysler. Nardelli was brought in to shake things up. One hopes he quickly overcomes his initial bad press and succeeds in bringing fresh perspectives and new energy to the pentastar. If he does, the pundits will change their tune. Rather than ask, “What were they thinking?” we’ll hear, “What took them so long?” - BT Justice, Back Seat Driving http://www.lacar.com/modules.php?name=News...cle&sid=848 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 I'm all for bringing in outside experience to run and lead companies - sometimes it's what's needed. However, I can't help but think that Chrysler needs someone with a much broader knowledge of the engineering, labor, resources, and dynamics of the auto industry at this point. Instead they've got a demoted engineer and a guy who wants to "monetize assets". Excuse me for not getting out my seat to cheer. As much as I'd like to see Cerberus as a good steward for Chrysler it's looking less and less likely. I guess no one has $30-40 billion to pour into Chrysler to "fix" it. If "fixed" Chrysler could definitely be a long-term positive investment - but quick shots of a couple hundred million here and a billion or two there isn't going to reform Chrysler into a competitve, long-term automaker. And without that solid footing, Chrysler will never be worth more. It's a vicious downward spiral that I don't see Chrysler coming out of with this move. I think most telling is detnews.com which is reporting that Bernhard turned down the Chairman job at Chrysler. My guess? Bernhard wants to run an auto company, not split it into pieces for sale to the highest bidder and retire. Nardelli? I don't believes that bothers him at all. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 (edited) "Be careful what you wish for" again. Hemi-heads and the Allpar "Bring back Plymouth" faithful prayed for years to get Mopar 'back under US hands". Look what they got! Another thing funny is all the posts from "Hemi" and friends claiming Chrysler was going to 'come back in a big way with RWD cars' and overtake Ford. Also the claim that "The Chrysler Aspen will out sell all of L-M's SUV's" Edited August 8, 2007 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Jellymoulds Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 "Be careful what you wish for" again. Hemi-heads and the Allpar "Bring back Plymouth" faithful prayed for years to get Mopar 'back under US hands". Look what they got! Another thing funny is all the posts from "Hemi" and friends claiming Chrysler was going to 'come back in a big way with RWD cars' and overtake Ford. Also the claim that "The Chrysler Aspen will out sell all of L-M's SUV's" Ford is already is King of RWD, F-150 best selling in its class, Ford Mustang best selling in its class. Chrysler will be asset stripped what’s left will be sold off just like Rover both made boring dull bland cars, and both will pay the price, l will be very surprised if things get turned around at Chrysler, with asset strippers steering at the helm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 The track record of industry outsiders coming to the auto industry is poor. Until last year, no outsider had ever been hired as the CEO of an auto company. Now it’s happened twice. Over at Ford, it’s too early to evaluate Mulally’s performance after 11 months on the job, but he’s has proven a quick study, endeared himself to his many stakeholders, and brought a sense of stability to the blue oval. /modules.php?name=News...cle&sid=848[/url] The difference is that Mulally background is coming from manufacturing and not running a retail company into the ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 The difference is that Mulally background is coming from manufacturing and not running a retail company into the ground That and Mulally didn't say "we need to monetize assets" his first day on the job. I'm not questioning his abilities or what-have-you, but does Nardelli have a clue? That's number 1 or 2 on the list of things NOT to say your first day at a company that has been purchased by a private equity firm. Oh well. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 The Admin of Allpar interviewed a Cerberus exec and ask "will you bring back Plymouth?" And was told "no it would cost 8 Billion to re-launch". What decade are some of these 'car nuts' living? But I'd like to see what the posters who claimed "Chrysler is only domestic car company that is doing well" say now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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