911GT1
07-28-2005, 07:10 AM
Personally I think he'd realised that mercedes are hopeless when his custom built uber s-class was stolen by a couple of russian punks...
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler's embattled Chief Executive Juergen Schrempp will leave at the end of the year, the carmaker said in a shock announcement on Thursday that eclipsed surprisingly good quarterly results.
Daimler said Schrempp, whom disgruntled investors blasted at their annual meeting for poor performance and shoddy leadership, had volunteered to go and hand over the reins of the world's fifth-biggest automaker to Chrysler chief Dieter Zetsche.
The news boosted DaimlerChrysler's stock -- the laggard so far this year among European peers -- more than 10 percent. They traded at 39.40 euros at 0930 GMT, up 8.5 percent. Schrempp's leaving added some 3.7 billion euros to the firm's market value.
"The supervisory board and Prof. Schrempp are in full agreement that the end of the year 2005 is the optimal time for a change in the leadership of the company," Chairman Hilmar Kopper said in a statement.
"The decisions of the supervisory board have been made unanimously after a thorough process," he said.
"He has left voluntarily after a dialogue with the supervisory board," a spokesman added, saying that Schrempp, 60, had proposed Zetsche as his successor.
Although Schrempp's contract runs until 2008, he will only draw his salary until the end of this year, the spokesman said.
Zetsche, 52, helped turn around the number-three U.S. automaker at a time of ferocious competition in North America. The German manager gets a five-year stint as group CEO. He is succeeded by Chrysler chief operating officer Thomas LaSorda.
"Schrempp's stepping down should absolutely be seen as positive for DaimlerChrysler," said Metzler Bank analyst Juergen Pieper. "Schrempp has made too many poor strategic decisions in the past. Zetsche should bring a breath of fresh air."
Schrempp's decision to build a carmaker with global reach led to Daimler-Benz's 1998 merger with Chrysler and its investment until last year in Japan's struggling Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
Both deals hurt profits and created management headaches while diverting attention from flagship luxury division Mercedes Car Group.
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__________________________________________________ ___________
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler's embattled Chief Executive Juergen Schrempp will leave at the end of the year, the carmaker said in a shock announcement on Thursday that eclipsed surprisingly good quarterly results.
Daimler said Schrempp, whom disgruntled investors blasted at their annual meeting for poor performance and shoddy leadership, had volunteered to go and hand over the reins of the world's fifth-biggest automaker to Chrysler chief Dieter Zetsche.
The news boosted DaimlerChrysler's stock -- the laggard so far this year among European peers -- more than 10 percent. They traded at 39.40 euros at 0930 GMT, up 8.5 percent. Schrempp's leaving added some 3.7 billion euros to the firm's market value.
"The supervisory board and Prof. Schrempp are in full agreement that the end of the year 2005 is the optimal time for a change in the leadership of the company," Chairman Hilmar Kopper said in a statement.
"The decisions of the supervisory board have been made unanimously after a thorough process," he said.
"He has left voluntarily after a dialogue with the supervisory board," a spokesman added, saying that Schrempp, 60, had proposed Zetsche as his successor.
Although Schrempp's contract runs until 2008, he will only draw his salary until the end of this year, the spokesman said.
Zetsche, 52, helped turn around the number-three U.S. automaker at a time of ferocious competition in North America. The German manager gets a five-year stint as group CEO. He is succeeded by Chrysler chief operating officer Thomas LaSorda.
"Schrempp's stepping down should absolutely be seen as positive for DaimlerChrysler," said Metzler Bank analyst Juergen Pieper. "Schrempp has made too many poor strategic decisions in the past. Zetsche should bring a breath of fresh air."
Schrempp's decision to build a carmaker with global reach led to Daimler-Benz's 1998 merger with Chrysler and its investment until last year in Japan's struggling Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
Both deals hurt profits and created management headaches while diverting attention from flagship luxury division Mercedes Car Group.