Marchionne becomes Chrysler chairman

Fiat SpA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has been named chairman of the Chrysler Group, the company said, further cementing Fiat’s control of the US automaker it has steered since 2009.Two new directors with established ties to Fiat also took the place of resigning board members with private equity investment backgrounds who had been appointed as part of Chrysler’s restructuring in a bankruptcy brokered and financed by the US Treasury. Fiat took majority control of the No.3 US automaker in July when Chrysler repaid US and Canadian government loans from its bailout, giving Fiat the power to appoint the majority of Chrysler’s nine-member board. “Repaying our governments’ loans six years early and refinancing our debt reinforces our conviction that we are on the right path to rebuilding this company and restoring it to its rightful place on the global automotive landscape within the framework of Chrysler’s global alliance with Fiat,” Marchionne, 59, said in a statement. Robert Kidder, who heads Columbus, Ohio-based private equity firm 3Stone Advisors LLC, resigned as Chrysler’s chairman along with two other directors George Gosbee and Scott Stuart, Chrysler said. Leo Houle, 64, and John Lanaway, 60, were appointed to take those two board seats. Both are already on the board of farm and construction equipment maker CNH Global NV, which is majority-owned by Fiat Industrial SpA. Houle, a Canadian, retired in July 2008 as chief talent officer of BCE Inc and Bell Canada, Canada’s largest communications company. Lanaway, an American citizen who was born in Canada, until June was executive vice president and chief financial officer for North American operations of McCann Erickson. From / Gulf Today