His main objective is to turnaround the struggling company and he won't draw a paycheck until this goal will be achieved.
Robert Nardelli, 59, will succeed Tom
LaSorda, 53, who will become president, while Chief Operating Officer Eric
Ridenour will leave Chrysler and won't be replaced.
Prior to joining Chrysler, Nardelli
served as Chairman, President and CEO of The Home Depot beginning in 2000.
During his tenure at The Home Depot he
doubled sales as well as the number of store operations; moved globally into
Prior to Home Depot Nardelli was a senior executive at
General Electric Co.
"I am very excited to be part of a
team focused on re-establishing Chrysler as a standalone industry leader, with
a renewed focus on meeting the needs of customers," said Nardelli.
"Chrysler has many deeply talented and dedicated people, and I am
confident that together we can continue the momentum of Chrysler's recovery and
return this great American icon to a path for global growth and
competitiveness."
On Friday, Cerberus closed the deal to buy an 80.1 per cent
stake in Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler AG for 7.4 billion dollars. Chrysler,
which ranks behind General Motors, Toyota and Ford in the U.S. market, lost
$1.5 billion last year and in February
In July the US brands of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler set a new low
for market share, just 48.2 per cent. Chrysler’s sales dipped 8 per cent to
137,728 units compared to the year-earlier period.