Archive for the 'Executives' Category
October 23rd, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Chrysler Group’s deputy CEO, Jim Press, may have already received his last Chrysler paycheck. According to Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. Treasury’s special master for executive compensation, payments already made to a senior Chrysler executive exceed the allowable maximum for companies that have received government bailouts.
Feinberg did not name specific executives, simply saying that three senior executives were leaving Chrysler before the end of the year. He also ordered the payroll stop for just one of the outgoing execs, saying the other two are still under the new limit. However, Press is one of three top executives leaving the company and he has the largest cash compensation package at $2.6 million.
Other Chrysler Group top brass will see their paychecks cut about 25 percent. Feinberg says maximum cash compensation should not exceed $500,00 a year and has placed strict conditions on the awarding of options and grants.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne will not see a cut in his compensation since he took no money from Chrysler and his salary as CEO of Fiat SpA is not subject to U.S. government review.
October 21st, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Top executives at Chrysler Group will soon see a major cut in their paychecks. As soon as today, the U.S. Treasury plans to announce new limitations on executive pay packages at companies that received the most government assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In addition to Chrysler, affected companies include General Motors, American International Group (AIG), Bank of America and Citigroup.
Kenneth Feinberg, special master at the Treasury, has been studying executive pay at the companies and, according to sources, plans to cut pay for the top 25 executives at each firm by about 50 percent. One insider told the Associated Press that no executive at AIG will receive more than $200,000.
It is unclear at this time whether Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne and some of the executives he brought from Fiat will be affected by the new measures. Marchionne is currently being paid by Fiat SpA which is not part of the government program.
October 14th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Sergio Marchionne is “the next generation of Lee Iacocca,” according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Following a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, LaHood said, “I think what I saw at Chrysler is what people felt when Iacocca was there. It’s a new level of energy and enthusiasm because there’s new leadership of people that know what they’re doing, of people that have been successful in the automobile manufacturing business.”
LaHood, who had a 40-minute meeting with Marchionne, said the Chrysler CEO radiated excitement and the same feeling was evident among Chrysler Group employees.
October 5th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Chrysler Group has announced the creation of Ram as a brand in its own right and named Fred Diaz as its president and CEO. Designer Ralph Gilles will become the CEO of Dodge cars while retaining his position as the head of Chrysler design. Gilles is probably best known for the design of the Chrysler 300, but also was responsible for the current Dodge minivan and Ram 1500 styling, and has been rapidly rising in the corporate hierarchy.
Mike Accavitti, who was in charge of Dodge, has left the company to “pursue other interests,” as the saying goes in a shakeup. Accavitti has been with Chrysler for more than 20 years, starting as a manufacturing engineer in the Chrysler-Maserati joint venture that produced the Chrysler TC. Subsequently, he worked in various manufacturing positions, rising to become Chrysler LLC’s director of brand marketing.
Fred Diaz joined Chrysler in 1989, rising through the sales, service, marketing, and customer relations groups until he headed Dodge brand communications from 2004 to 2006. He was put in charge of the Denver business center after that, heading sales, service, and field ops there.
Olivier Francois, currently CEO of Fiat S.p.A.’s Lancia brand, is replacing Peter Fong as CEO of the Chrysler brand. Francois will also continue to head up Lancia. Chrysler says Fong, a former Navy pilot who had worked with Ford’s sales and marketing until joining the former Chrysler LLC last year, “resigned for personal reasons.”
Parisian Olivier Francois, has been in charge of Fiat’s brand communication since January 2009, but has headed Lancia since 2005, joining virtually at the top; he was hired away from Citroen, where he had been general manager for Citroen in Italy and, earlier, in Denmark.
Michael Manley continues as CEO of Jeep, but his secondary duty as product planner for the full group has been shifted to Detroit native Joseph Veltri. Veltri has been product planning lead and head of truck/SUV product planning since July, responsible for both truck and SUV product planning and continuity across brands. He will now be in charge of product planning across the group. Veltri joined Chrysler in 1988 as an analyst, leaving KPMG to take the post; he was later put in charge of Dodge Truck marketing and product planning.
In a statement, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of both Fiat and Chrysler, said, “This reorganization will allow us to protect and develop the unique nature of the product offerings within the Dodge Brand.”
September 30th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler Group’s executive VP for manufacturing is taking a temporary medical leave. Scott Garberding, who is in charge of purchasing, will assume Ewasyshyn’s responsibilities on an interim basis. Dan Knott of the engineering department will handle purchasing and supplier contacts. Both will report to CEO Sergio Marchionne.
September 22nd, 2009 by DaveAdmin
Though powertrains have long been considered one of Chrysler’s strengths, as seen in the class-leading Neon 2.0 (when it arrived), Hemi V8, and Pentastar V6, a Fiat executive has now taken over Chrysler’s Powertrain Engineering division.
Paolo Ferrero was just named Senior Vice President of Chrysler Powertrain. He will report directly to CEO Sergio Marchionne, and will be responsible for all Chrysler Group powertrain operations, with a current mandate of sharing with Fiat Powertrain Technologies. Ferrero holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Turin.
September 18th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
According to the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler Deputy CEO Jim Press owes the U.S. government nearly $1 million in back taxes and the Internal Revenue Service has put a lien on family’s home in Birmingham, Michigan.
A lien notice filed with the Oakland County Register of Deeds says Press and his wife, Suwichada, have an unpaid balance of $947,409.63 from the tax period that ended December 31, 2007.
Press left Toyota in 2007 to become part of the team Cerberus Capital Management hoped would be able to turn Chrysler around. Since Chrysler was a privately-held company, his compensation package was never revealed but was rumored to be in the range of $50 million.
Neither Press or Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan had any comment on the matter.
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