Ouch. Signaling a less than appreciative vote for new marketing techniques, Chrysler's Bob Nardelli cans Jason Vines and banishes the whole corporate communications staff to human resources:
A former stand-up comedian with a flare for showmanship, Mr. Vines clashed with a more tight-lipped approach to media relations advocated by Mr. Nardelli and Cerberus, according to people familiar with the matter. He had been pushing Mr. Nardelli and Vice Chairman Jim Press, who was recruited from Toyota Motor Corp., to speak to the media about Chrysler's turnaround efforts, but Mr. Nardelli opposed him, they said.
At the urging of Mr. Nardelli, Chrysler had brought in a public-relations consultant, Robert Marston & Associates Inc., to work with Mr. Vines. The agency had previously worked with Mr. Nardelli when he was CEO of Home Depot Inc.
Under Mr. Vines, Chrysler was known in Detroit as one of the more media-friendly companies in the auto industry. Cerberus, by contrast, typically shuns media attention... Executives within Chrysler's corporate-communications department will now report to human-resources Senior Vice President Nancy Rae, the Auburn Hills, Mich., company said yesterday.
Read the article here.
Download vSente's Free Campaign Planner to learn more about how we help marketing managers battle larger competition.
He did such an outstanding job at HD...WHAT was Cerebus thinking they were getting with Bob?
Mr.Vine is lucky Nardelli didn't cut out his tongue.
Posted by: Hdtex | 21 December 2007 at 05:11 AM