Kathleen M. Oswald named Chief Administrative Officer For DaimlerChrysler Corporation
21 June 2000
DCC announces key appointments and realignments
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - James P. Holden, President and CEO, DaimlerChrysler
Corporation (DCC) announced a number of key organizational realignments and
appointments beginning with Kathleen M. Oswald to the newly created position of
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) effective July 1, 2000. This position will
report dually to the President and CEO on administrative matters pertaining to
DCC and to Juergen E. Schrempp, Chairman DaimlerChrysler AG on global human
resource matters.
"Kathy's appointment is significant -- the CAO is a key position in our
organization," said Jim Holden. "I am very pleased to recognize her with this
new and challenging assignment. She is an exceptional manager and brings
broad administrative experience to this position. We believe this makes Kathy
the highest ranking woman in our industry. With Kathy assuming responsibility
for all administrative functions, I can focus on the DCC operations and
executive responsibilities."
The CAO provides critical support to the President and CEO by assuming
responsibility for all DCC administrative functions including Human Resources,
Employee Relations, State and Local Government Relations, Executive Management
Development, and the day-to-day operations of the e-Connect Platform and the
DCC Business Strategy functions, which continue to report to Jim Holden on
matters of strategy. Kathy Oswald will also be directly responsible to the
Chairman of DaimlerChrysler AG on matters of global Human Resources.
Nancy A. Rae is appointed Senior Vice President - Human Resources and will
be responsible for Human Resources issues pertaining to DCC. Nancy most
recently served as Vice President - Compensation & Benefits.
"Nancy brings a wealth of human resources experience to this position,"
said Kathy Oswald, CAO DaimlerChrysler Corporation. "With her strong HR
background and leadership ability, Nancy will continue to move the company
forward in this area."
Thomas J. Hadrych is appointed Vice President - Benefits, reporting to
Nancy Rae. He assumes responsibility for Integrated Health Care & Disability,
Retirement & Savings, Compensation & Benefits Communications, and Human
Resources Supply Chain, which reports dually to Nancy Rae, who has functional
responsibility for HR Business Process Planning. Tom most recently served as
Director - Facility Services & Program Management.
John S. Franciosi is appointed Senior Vice President - Employee Relations
replacing Thomas Gallagher, who has announced his intention to retire June 30,
2000. John most recently served as Vice President - Union Relations and
Security Operations.
"John's rich background in labor relations and manufacturing make him the
prime candidate for this position," said Kathy Oswald. "This company values
its relationship with the UAW and our other unions. We are confident that
under John's leadership, we will continue the tradition of strong union
relations that Tom Gallagher and his team worked so hard to establish."
Kenneth J. McCarter is appointed Vice President - Union Relations and
Security Operations, reporting to John Franciosi. Ken is responsible for
interface with the UAW and other unions as well as plant and corporate
security matters. Ken most recently served as Vice President - Human
Resources, DaimlerChrysler Canada.
Gary E. Dilts is appointed Senior Vice President - eConnect Platform. He
will report to Kathy Oswald for day-to-day operations and to Jim Holden for
eConnect Strategy. Gary most recently served as Vice President - eConnect
Platform.
"E-Business is a high priority at DaimlerChrysler," said Kathy Oswald.
"Gary has clearly demonstrated a firm grasp of the complex issues in this
arena. This coupled with his experience connecting the many DCC partners over
the last few years make him our strongest candidate to lead this charge."
Realigned to report to the CAO are:
* Frank Fountain, Senior Vice President - State & Local Government
Relations;
* A Vice President - Business Strategy, to be appointed at a later date,
will also report to Kathy Oswald for day-to-day operations and to Jim Holden
for matters of business strategy;
* Wilfred Porth, Vice President - Global Executive Management
Development, who will continue to report dually to Kathy Oswald and Gunther
Fleig, Board of Management member for Human Resources;
* Patricia Anderson, who is appointed Director - Compensation and
Organizational Planning and who will report to Kathy Oswald regarding global
executive compensation and to Nancy Rae on matters of DCC compensation and
organizational planning.
* Charles Braswell, Director - Global Business Travel Management.
In addition, Steven Rossi, Vice President - NAFTA Communications is
realigned to report directly to Jim Holden on all matters pertaining to DCC.
He maintains a functional reporting relationship to Christoph Walther, Senior
Vice President - Communications in Stuttgart, Germany.
"With these key announcements and realignments combined with those made
over the course of the last two months, DCC has an excellent leadership team
in place," said Jim Holden. "With our roster of talent and experience, I am
confident that we are well positioned to meet the mounting competitive
challenges head-on."