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When Bob Nardelli left as CEO of Home Depot in January, he got a tidy bonus of $210 Million. Must have made a huge investment in Cerberus Capital Management because they just named Nardelli instead of Wolfgang Bernhard CEO of The New Chrysler Corporation. This is expected to be officially announced at a press conference on Monday morning August 6 in Auburn Hills.

Mass Retailer Heads Chrysler – “Adjustments” Begin in Management Chairs
The surprise appearance of Nardelli on the scene – a man with supposedly no automotive experience but good experience running one of the biggest retail chains in the USA – leaves us guessing where the various players will eventually alight.
Early reports say that Bernhard declined the CEO position for personal reasons. Tom LaSorda, Chrysler’s CEO until Nardelli’s appointment, is expected to remain on board as Vice Chairman and President… kinda the Chief Operating Officer. Rumors have it that LaSorda is taking calls concerning future opportunities outside Chrysler. It’s tough to become a supporting player after having first chair even under the umbrella of DaimlerChrysler.
Eric Ridenour, a highly respected car guy and until now the Chief Operating Officer working with LaSorda has elected to leave the company to explore other opportunities.
The Zero Dollar Man – No Pay Until Chrysler is Profitable

Back to Nardelli’s $210 million. Reportedly he will not take a salary until The New Chrysler has turned around. But since Chrysler no longer has to report to Wall Street we may never know the actual story here.
Cerberus’ move to have Nardelli is a brave one. The auto industry has numerous examples of industry outsiders who have been chewed up and spit out by the old gang. Cerberus has a legion of former industry execs to call upon. The assumption here is that Cerberus thinks they can find a way either by force of Nardelli’s own style, or with the help of gray-haired former execs, to have Nardelli succeed and excel at the help of The New Chrysler.
Stay tuned, more to come from Monday’s meeting in Auburn Hills.