Chrysler to get a brand-new Bob, replacing chairman Nardelli with Kidder
Chrysler may not yet be out of bankruptcy, but it already has a new boss lined up.
The automaker, which filed for Chapter 11 protection less than three weeks ago, said today that Robert Kidder would become its chairman once it emerges as a new company in alliance with Italian automaker Fiat.
Kidder, who is the former chairman and chief executive of Borden Chemical Inc. and currently heads green-tech investment firm 3Stone Advisors, will succeed current Chrysler Chairman Robert Nardelli. Kidder will be charged with turning the troubled company around.
"I am confident that Chrysler will emerge from Chapter 11 a lean and powerful competitor," said Kidder, adding that the company would combine "its own rich history of innovation with Fiat's technology and expertise to invigorate the American car market and to challenge other car companies around the globe."
Nardelli has run the smallest of the U.S. car companies since August 2007. Since then, Chrysler has seen its sales crash more deeply than any other major manufacturer, been forced to borrow $7.8 billion from the government to remain solvent and has had to submit to a shotgun marriage with Italian automaker Fiat to save the company.
When Chrysler entered bankruptcy on April 30, Nardelli announced that he would leave the company upon completion of the bankruptcy process....
"My No. 1 priority has been to preserve Chrysler and the livelihoods of thousands of people who depend on its success," Nardelli said in a statement. "With his broad expertise serving on numerous world-class boards and his accomplished business background, [Kidder] will provide the leadership and strategic counsel that will help to create a strong global competitor moving forward."
In Kidder, Chrysler gets not only another Bob at the helm, but also one with an interesting resume, including helming battery maker Duracell International Inc.
That experience could be helpful to Chrysler, which has pledged to make battery-powered electric cars a key component of its turnaround plans, and last year unveiled a handful of electric prototypes that it hopes to begin producing within the next two years.
His experience at Borden is also of note. Under his watch, the Ohio maker of food products such as Cracker Jack, as well as of Elmer's Glue and Krazy Glue, was bought out by takeover firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which eventually sold off its food lines. After Kidder left in 2003, Borden was sold again.
But questions also arise about how much control over the company Kidder will truly have. Fiat, Chrysler's partner going forward, has a very strong leader in Sergio Marchionne. Judging by his extensive involvement in negotiations with Chrysler and the Obama administration, it seems likely that that he will be pulling the strings at both Fiat and Chrysler.
That could create a situation analagous to Renault and Nissan, which are half a world apart but have the same boss: Carlos Ghosn. Each company has its own executive structure, but it is the Brazilian-French-Lebanese Ghosn, jetting between hemispheres on his Gulfstream, who is most firmly in charge. Notably, Chrysler did not bestow Nardelli's chief executive title on Kidder, which could fuel such speculation.
As part of the terms of the bridge loans Chrysler received from the federal government, Nardelli agreed to take a salary of $1 in 2009.
But little is known about whether he will receive a severance. Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which acquired Chrysler from Daimler in 2007, is notoriously mum on compensation issues.
Still, it would hardly be surprising to see Nardelli depart with a fair amount of bling in his parachute. At his last job, as chief executive of Home Depot Inc., he did little for shareholder value even as competitors ate up market share, en route to being named by CNBC as the worst CEO in history.
Despite that, his compensation was roughly $240 million, while his severance package was valued at $210 million.
No word yet on what Kidder will be paid.
--Ken Bensinger
Photo, top: Incoming Chrysler Chairman Robert Kidder. Credit: Chrysler
Photo, bottom: Outgoing Chrysler Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli. Credit: Chrysler
It's about time that Chrysler got rid of Nardelli. He is nothing but one of the many greedy C.E.O's that got us into these dire economic straits we are in. He nearly ran Home Depot into the ground while making off with over $250 MILLION in bonuses and stock options.
I hope he promptly fades into the obscurity that he belongs in. Good riddance!
Posted by: Against Hypocrisy | May 20, 2009 at 06:52 PM
I cannot believe the idiots who bought Chrysler hired Nardelli as CEO. I love it, he looses millions at Home Depot, trained and worked for the biggest whore in business Jack Welch and walks away again with millions after running another company in to the ground. When does it soak in this ass makes his money by mismanaging not managing.
Posted by: Steve | May 21, 2009 at 05:39 AM
Can someone please tell me how a guy who runs Home Depot into the ground and is voted the worst CEO in history by CNBC, gets hired to run a major car company? A business he obviously knew nothing about. And gets paid $240 million for his incompetence. I just don't get it.
Posted by: chuck gaudette | May 21, 2009 at 07:54 AM
Nardelli, is a virus, a cancer to american corporations. my local home depot is stil suffering from his actions. Homedepot spent over $250 million just to tell hjim to get the h**l out of town. My store continues with its problems he left it with...not enough cashiers, long lines, etc. Why did Chrysler hire him in the first place? Couldnt they see what a terrible job he did at HD?
Posted by: aaron | May 21, 2009 at 08:45 AM
how about the new bob !?
can anyone say in all honesty the new bob is better than the old bob. The new bob looks no more qualified than your typical southern California house flipper, but with better connections on wall street. Sounds like the plan is to hold Chrysler for a couple of years, change the shower curtains, and sell it for a profit when the the markets eventually recover
Posted by: NV | May 21, 2009 at 01:17 PM
The question is-Will Nardelli rise again and find another corporation to destroy?
Posted by: w czander | May 21, 2009 at 02:56 PM
Where's Lee Iacocca when you need him? Back in the day car manufacturers were ran by career car men. To hire Nardelli when he screwed Home Depot was irresponsible.
As Don Trump (no laughing) once said "First rate people hire first rate help, second rate people hire third rate help".....condensed memory from The Art Of The Deal
Posted by: ^^~*matty | May 22, 2009 at 11:10 AM
OK, I understood why they hired Nardelli. They wanted to bankrupt the company to break the union. They have broken the union, so why hire another guy that doesn't know what he's doing? Why hire a guy from a Chemical company? What does a Chemical guy know about cars? The same goes for GM. What gives? I guess corporate America would prefer to drive Japanese and Korean cars.
Posted by: Xico | May 23, 2009 at 07:41 AM
Regarding Lee Iacocca, at 84, I think he would be the first to decline the job. The US rolled the dice in the 80's with Chrysler and Iacocca, bailed out Chrysler with loan guarantees (no actual money) and it paid off, when the government cashed in stock options (with initial objections from Chrysler) and actually made a profit. But Chrysler made stupid moves back then buying Gulfstream and not paying attention to quality. Now the government is throwing an unimaginable of money at GM and Chrysler with a very little probability of recovery of the companies nor the actual money. Fiat is not investing anything except for the promise to make at least one small car in a US plant. Both Canada (to a much lesser extent) and the US (taking the brunt) are taking all the risk. I just hope that the Billions of dollars aren't vaporized like they were with AIG and other financial entities.
Posted by: James Robert | May 25, 2009 at 01:30 PM
"Still, it would hardly be surprising to see Nardelli depart with a fair amount of bling in his parachute." It may be symbolic, but the US should have learned by the banking bailouts and make any loans contingent upon Naredelli or other executives NOT getting a golden parachute when blue collar labor, dealers and their employees in the thousands are facing layoffs--It just isn't right. No one should be profiting at the taxpayer's and worker's expense. If they don't like, don't take the money. Its that simple.
Posted by: Kate Barner | May 25, 2009 at 01:43 PM