Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has been keeping his own counsel on who will sit on a new 25-person steering committee to help him run the two automakers but some names are surfacing from sources. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Here is how the new structure may work out, according to sources:
Harald Wester is penciled in to oversee product engineering on the steering committee. The German executive will retain his current position as senior vice president for product engineering at Fiat.
Stefan Ketter will take charge of global manufacturing for the Fiat and Chrysler. Currently, the German executive is Fiat’s manufacturing head.
The two executives will work with an American, Doug Betts, who is extending his quality responsibility from Chrysler to Fiat as well.
An Italian, Lorenzo Ramaciotti, is scheduled to oversee product design for Chrysler and Fiat. The former Pininfarina design chief is now senior vice president for styling at Fiat. The Chrysler Group’s design chief, Ralph Gilles, would report to him and Marchionne.
Joe Veltri, an American in charge of product planning for Chrysler, could oversee Fiat product planning on the committee, the sources say.
Two British executives, Mike Manley and Richard Palmer, would be in charge of international operations and finance, respectively, for Fiat and Chrysler. They now handle those duties for just Chrysler.
Olivier Francois, a Frenchman, is already head of marketing for Fiat and Chrysler, and he would retain that job on the steering committee.
Marchionne confidant Alessandro Baldi is scheduled to head global audit and control. The Swiss Baldi has worked with Marchionne for almost 20 years.
