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Chrysler LLC, shuffling leaders in bankruptcy, said former chemical and battery executive Robert Kidder will become chairman after most of the automaker's assets are sold to a new company controlled by Italy's Fiat SpA.
Kidder, 62, is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Borden Chemical Inc. and Duracell International Inc. He will take the chairmanship of the newly renamed Chrysler Group LLC as Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne becomes CEO. Robert Nardelli, who held both titles, will step aside.
Kidder's selection reversed Chrysler's original plan to have a board named first, and then have the directors pick their leader. Fiat, the U.S. and Canadian governments and a union retiree health fund will choose the board members, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
"It was determined it would be most appropriate to have the chairman in place at the outset of the process to help shape the selection of the board," said Lori McTavish, a spokeswoman for Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler.
Kidder was among four U.S. Treasury nominees for the new board, said an official with the Obama administration, which had a role in the selection under the terms of the Chrysler-Fiat partnership. Chrysler received $4 billion in emergency federal loans before filing for bankruptcy.
The nine directors will consist of three picked by Fiat, four by the U.S., one by Canada and one by the United Auto Workers trust fund. Chrysler didn't disclose the other members of the board.
Chrysler is scheduled to auction most of its assets to the new company on May 27. Today is the deadline for the court to receive competing bids. The new company has a bid to purchase the assets for $2 billion, using funding provided by the Treasury and Canadian government.
"I am pleased to join Chrysler at a time when Chrysler is poised to launch an exciting new era," Kidder said in a statement. "I am confident that Chrysler will emerge from Chapter 11 a lean and powerful competitor."
Kidder is the lead director on the board of Morgan Stanley and is now CEO of 3Stone Advisors LLC. An engineer by training, Kidder has been on the Morgan Stanley board since 1993, making him the longest-serving director.
