Jalopnik
Chrysler's just announced that joining Bob Nardelli at "The New Chrysler" will be none other than Jim Press, who up until today was President and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota North America and the token 'merican on the Toyota board of directors. He'll be filling the slot of vice chairman. We're stunned like deer in the headlights of an oncoming four-door Jeep Wrangler with an optional roof light bar on this one. We don't even have anything funny to say — we're just that flabbergasted. The only thing we're wondering is how much money they offered Press to run the show over there. Full press release on Press below the jump.
Chairman and CEO Robert L. Nardelli teams former Toyota chief With Vice Chairman and President Thomas W. LaSorda "World-class supply and demand leaders" Joins Nardelli and LaSorda in new Office of the Chairman and On Board of Directors of Chrysler LLC Press to run North American Sales, International Sales, Global Marketing, Product Strategy, and Service and Parts September 6, 2007AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - Chrysler LLC Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli today announced the appointment of James Press as Vice Chairman and President. Press, who was President and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motors in North America Inc. and a Director of the parent company, will now be responsible for North American Sales, International Sales, Global Marketing, Product Strategy, and Service and Parts for Chrysler LLC. "Tom LaSorda and I are thrilled that one of the most successful executives in the history of the auto industry has joined our leadership team at the New Chrysler," said Nardelli. "Our top team now consists of a world-class 'supply' leader in Tom and an equally world-class 'demand' leader in Jim.""I've known Jim for many years and know that he will hit the ground sprinting," said LaSorda. "I look forward to partnering with him and Bob as part of the Office of the Chairman."
Press joins LaSorda as a Vice Chairman and President, reporting to Nardelli. LaSorda's responsibilities will continue to include Manufacturing, Procurement and Supply, Employee Relations and Global Business Development and Alliances.
"I am grateful for the support and opportunities I received during my three-plus decades at Toyota," said Press. "I relish this new opportunity with the Chrysler team to be a part of the resurgence of a true American icon here and around the world. Part of my new responsibilities will be strengthening and energizing the dealer body. This is something I was passionate about at Toyota and will be passionate about at Chrysler."Press joins Chrysler after 37 years with Toyota, where he most recently served as the first non-Japanese President of Toyota Motor North America Inc., responsible for sales, engineering and the company's 15 manufacturing plants with 41,000 employees in North America. He was also the first non-Japanese executive selected to the Board of Directors of Toyota Motor Corporation.
During his tenure at Toyota, the company grew from an upstart new company selling 100,000 vehicles per year to the second largest auto company in the United States.
Press becomes a member of the Chrysler LLC Board of Directors and the Board of Managers of Cerberus Operations and Advisory Co. (COAC), LLC. Press joins LaSorda as Vice Chairman of COAC.
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Chrysler LLC, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., produces Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge and Mopar® brand vehicles and products. Total sales worldwide in 2006 were 2.7 million vehicles. Sales outside of North America were the highest in a decade with an increase of 15 percent over 2005. On the heels of the company's record product launch year (Chrysler launched 10 all-new vehicles in 2006), the company plans to extend that streak with eight all-new products in 2007. Its product lineup features some of the world's most recognizable vehicles, including the Chrysler 300, Jeep Commander and Dodge Charger. The Chrysler Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm, gave $23.6 million in grants in 2006. Chrysler is a unit of Cerberus Capital Management.
Comments
lol @ "token 'merican"
Has he ever dealt with the UAW?
SlimFast.........is GoneFast.
I hope Mister Career-Transportation-Appliance-Pusher gets on board with the whole clouds-of-Hemi-powered-tire-smoke deal. He's not exactly Lutz, is he?
@FLB: Labor relations is still going to be Lasorda's job, looks like.
@jacflash:
Jacflash, consider Lasorda "finished" at Chrysler. Do you recall when "THE MERGER OF EQUALS" took place at Daimler and Chrysler? Schrempp and Eaton announced they were Co-chairmand and would operate that way. The biz school pundits said ..nada. Won't work. And the DaimlerChrysler brass insisted it would. Six months onward Eaton announced he would eventually step down making himself a lame duck instantaneously. Tell me that wasn't staged. (Bob did escape to Naples, Florida with $70M so his ego took a softer blow). Same thing here....they will tell the media and employees that the two guys, Press and Lasorda will co-exist. Horseshit. Lasorda will not accept a demotion to Labor Relations....they have John Franciosi running that area. And he has more manufacturing experience than Lasorda. What surprises me is that the announcement came before talks wrapped up........or did the boys in NYC do this on purpose to send the UAW a message....the old way is toast?
@allenparkpete: Maybe. Remember that Lasorda's key expertise really is labor and manufacturing. He was clearly in over his head as a CEO, and I think he knew it. I'm not quite convinced he's gone... it's possible that they just "rightsized" his portfolio and are paying him enough to keep him from getting upset about it. We'll see.
I agree that the old way is toast, and they want the UAW to know it. THAT'S clear.
Wow. Didn't see this one coming. Hadn't he been with Toyota since 1970?!?
Mullaly-type money must have been involved in this!
"World-class supply and demand leaders"
That still doesn't make sense.
Is it possible that Toyota's recent quality problems, and the lackluster sales on the new Tundra, were all going to fall on Press? And he's getting out while his name is still untarnished?
Just spitballin'
Always great to get a post from Allenparkpete.
This is good side of private equity...
Most people equate PE with slash/burn and turning things around for a quick buck. That happens a lot. But the essence of it is identifying a good company that is mismanaged and turning it around. Chrysler's once-a-decade flashes of brilliance (Hemi, mini-van, 90s design renaissance, 300C) shows that it can do good things... it just needs the right management.
It doesn't matter if they gave Jim $50 million. If he does his job right, he'll earn that back for the company several times over.
Weird. They take Toyota's weakest link - Demand generation (no I don't give them credit for growing into their sales with a smaller dealer body, just credit for restraining the dealer count growth) and Chrysler's weakest link - Supply and somehow you've got world leaders?
They'd have been better off to get a supply guy from Toyota, a sales guy with dirt under his fingernails from one of the great Demand stories like Lexus, Hyundai or Saturn, and a product guy from BMW.
Also, Lasorda has to got be doing at least 10 job interviews a day. The writing on the wall is Las Vegas-subtle by now.
I'm really curious what kind of signing bonus they threw his way. You can't just take one of the biggest guys from one of the biggest companies for chump change!
I still can't believe he doesn't have a non-compete clause!
There is no doubt that Lasorda is a wealthier man now than even a year ago thanks to the UNMERGER OF UNEQUALS but guys at that level in the car profession have big ego's or grow them rapidly. This has to hurt. Ford needs to deepen their bench but for Lasorda to go there he's dealing with an even nastier outfit than Chrysler. He's 54 and still has some good years ahead of him but look at it this way...if he stayed with GM, would he ever have gotten to the same level? He may have had greater success than he ever imagined.
My guess is that if he does stick with the car industry it will be with a supplier.
Press will bring a few others with him but Chrysler still needs a product development czar.
@pjsammy: With Cerberus involved you can bet Jim got a piece of the action. Or a promise of a piece depending on his performance. The man has more money than he can possibly need, so it's all about the challenge.
And the upside associated with the piece of the action.
Toyota sent him over there to get a feel for the place before they decide to buy Cerberus in its entirety.
This is a complete conflict of interest, I wouldn't be surprised if toyota sues him (especially if chrysler magically start implimenting quality processes that toyota uses). Didn't chrysler sell it's company to some holding company for like 2 billion dollars? He HAD to have gotten a HUGE hiring bonus to leave toyota because there's no other reason, just goes to show you how desperate american car companies have become. Before you know it, chrysler will just start buying rolling chassis' from toyota and slap in their own interior and bodies.
@Big Ron: Made me laugh.
@toyotaboy: You're kidding, right? Toyota isn't going to sue anyone. Their quality processes are not secret.
@toyotaboy:
Toyotaboy, Chrysler is known as the company where outsiders come in to run the place. Name me a Chairman or President of Chrysler in recent memory who started with Chrysler at the very beginning of their career and ended up with the top job there? I could be wrong but the last one was K.T. Keller
@toyotaboy:
I honestly believe that Mr. Press's departure from Toyota is financially motivated. Mr. Press may have signed a non-compete, however, depending on the state he signed the document in, it may be unenforcable. For example, in California, there is no such thing as non-competes, there are non-disclosure aggreements. For the most part, non-competes are unenforcable. As a last note, you do realize the ideology for quality control came from Americans after World War 2 (Deming Award anybody)? Here's the link [www.skymark.com] You may ask if I lean towards domestics or imports, I choose whoever suits my needs. And yes, Chrysler has always hired outside people, Lee Iacocca is an excellent example.
I have no doubt Press will be handsomely rewarded, if Chrysler recovers. But I don't think he's doing this just for the money. Today's Wall Street Journal speculates that Press wasn't happy with his new role at Toyota, which entails more lobbying in Washington than actual involvement with selling cars. (Toyota thought they needed an American face to help their image in the US as they blow by Ford and GM.) Press also knew he'd never make it to the top of Toyota -- look how long it took for them to put him on the board, which they should have done 10 years ago. This is a loss of face for Toyota -- it may be years before they appoint another American director.
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