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Ralph Gilles named Fiat Chrysler head of design

The amalgamation of two major automakers like Fiat and Chrysler inevitably means that there'll be some redundancy. There can't be two design chiefs for the entire group, for example, so the Italian-American automaker has named just one to oversee all design for its various divisions – and that one individual is Ralph Gilles. A Chrysler group veteran, Gilles has been at Auburn Hills since 1992, and has held a number of key positions along the way. He has until now served as senior vice president in charge of what's now known as the FCA North American Design Office – a position he assumed in June 2009 when it was still just the Chrysler design office – and has previously run the Dodge and SRT brands and headed up the company's racing activities. In assuming his new role as the group's Head of Design, Gilles will also step up to the FCA Group Executive Council. Meanwhile Lorenzo Ramaciotti, who joined Fiat as head of design in 2007 after serving the same function at Pininfarina, is now set to retire. Along with the Gilles appointment and Ramaciotti retirement, FCA has named Mauro Fenzi as group COO Systems and head of Comau, Fiat's robotic machinery division. FCA Announces Executive Changes - Appoints Gilles as Chief Designer - Names Fenzi COO Systems and CEO of Comau April 1, 2015 , London - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU / MI: FCA) today announced that Ralph Gilles was named Head of Design and member of the FCA Group Executive Council (GEC). He currently leads the FCA North American Design Office as Senior Vice President, a position he was named to in June 2009. The GEC is the highest management-level decision making body within the FCA organization and is led by the FCA Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Gilles succeeds Lorenzo Ramaciotti, who is retiring after several years of dedicated service with the Company. Ramaciotti will continue to lend his expertise to the group serving as a Special Advisor to the CEO. "We extend our sincere appreciation to Lorenzo for his unwavering dedication, service, leadership and many contributions to the organization," said Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. Gilles previously served as CEO – Motorsports; President and CEO – SRT Brand and CEO – Dodge Brand for FCA US in addition to his leadership role in Design. He joined the Company in 1992.

Marchionne's pay as Fiat CEO falls to $5M

Sergio Marchionne will be buying fewer of his iconic sweaters, as his 2013 pay from Fiat took a dip from $6.24 million to an even $5 million. Marchionne, who was also CEO of Chrysler, made $307,989 thanks to some stocks and benefits from the American company, although he didn't take a salary. Of that $5 million paid by Fiat, $3.19 million came from Marchionne's fixed salary while the remaining $1.8 million was paid for hitting unspecified performance targets.
The news comes from Fiat's compensation reports, which also showed that the 61-year-old, who already owned three million shares in Fiat at the end of 2013, was able to receive an additional 2.3 million shares through a stock incentive program. According to Automotive News Europe, the additional shares would be worth about $25 million at today's prices, although so far, Marchionne has declined to claim the extra shares.
According to ANE, Fiat reported a 2013 trading profit of $4.7 billion.

Fiat-Chrysler alliance in jeopardy due to Pentastar's IPO filing?

The four-year relationship between Fiat and Chrysler has thus far been beneficial for both automakers, but it has also proven to be a complicated battle between Sergio Marchionne and the United Auto Workers - the latter controlling the remaining 41.5 percent of Chrysler. With the recent filing for a US IPO, it looks like Marchionne and the UAW appear to be playing a billion-dollar game of chicken, with both sides far apart on how much the union's shares are worth. If it comes down to Chrysler's remaining stake being publicly traded, it could act to drive a wedge between the two companies.
According to Bloomberg, Fiat's chairman John Elkann says "if the IPO will take place, there will be two companies, and that's different than having a single one." Now, we're not great at math, but this sounds like the complete opposite of the full merger that Marchionne has been pushing for since taking the helm at Chrysler. Bloomberg notes that the UAW's shares should be worth around $5.6 billion, but Fiat could end up paying as little as $4.9 billion for Fiat to gain full control of Chrysler. A story by The Detroit News points out that Marchionne's "alleged low-balling" is just the latest hurdle the Auburn Hills-based automaker must overcome as its ownership is being fought over for the fourth time in 15 years.