GeaKana

Here's the article on mercedes.com :

Stuttgart, 03/31/2003

The DaimlerChrysler AG Board of Management has made the following personnel changes at the Mercedes Car Group: Helmut Petri (63), Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group Production, will extend his contract until the end of June 2004 to head a project on the Mercedes Car Group Divisional Board. Hans-Heinrich Weingarten (56), head of the Sindelfingen plant and production series management spokesperson for the S/SL production series, will succeed Helmut Petri as Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group Production, effective July 1, 2003. Professor Eberhard Haller (51), currently head of Production Planning at Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars, will succeed Hans-Heinrich Weingarten as head of the Sindelfingen plant.


Does this mean the quality will go up again?...I mean everybody knows Mercedes' quality on some models hasn't been very good lately...& considerin' the Daimler's CEO's salaries r the highest out of their competitors it showed they weren't doin' a nice job...here r the ex CEO's salaries compared to their prime competitorsI guess the dudes at Mercedes AG also had huge salaries)

Average earnings per member of the boards per year:

Company:

DaimlerChrysler 4.100.000Euro (3.660.000Dollars)
BMW 1.300.000Euro (1.160.000Dollars)
VW Group 2.000.000Euro (1.790.000 Dollars)
Porsche 2.000.000Euro (1.790.000Dollars)

(Figures in Euro: German car magazine "Auto Motor und Sport", May 2001)

FInality

I think the managers have started doing a very good job. Take a look at the SL and the new E very few people can argue they are bad cars. The Chrylser buyout created a real mess in the Daimler division. Managers where no longer focussed on the task at hand and yes quality did slip. I still think its the worst decision they have ever made and I stick by that statement. Lets see what happens now that most of the Chrysler mess has been fixed they can get back to work! Recent model impovements have been stellar examples of that.

Updates in the S, CL have been very positive. Fixing most quality complaints and slighlty refreshing the car to give it a nice look. The S class is still the gold standard for any car maker even if the looks are a bit dated when compared to its rivals. The CL stands apart from anything on the road it has no competitors. The SL sent BMW running with its tails between its legs by packing up the Z8. The CLK is a major improvement in looks over the 209 and while it is a softer look, a lot of people where not fond of the 208s body styling myself included - sorry guys!

They also sent AMG on a quest to go power mad and I dont hear any complaints about that It certainly raised the profile of the entire company. No longer can you view a Mercedes as a stodgy old grand fathers car but as a true sleeper luxury cruiser.

While I am a fan of the looks of the new 7er and Z4 the 7 is a total failure in terms of reliability in both electronics and engine. The new 5er is just UGLY, they did a lot of pshop work with the lighting to get it to look the way it does right now.

What has VW done with their car line up lately? Nothing exciting or interesting in the entire line up. Even the RS6 is not a worthy competitor in the super sedan market.

Porsche execs have done a good job, just take a look at their 40% profit margin to see a good example of that. Whether the Cayenne be sucessful is a totally different debate but I guess time will tell

karl k

"Average earnings per member of the boards per year:

Company:

DaimlerChrysler 4.100.000Euro (3.660.000Dollars)
BMW 1.300.000Euro (1.160.000Dollars)
VW Group 2.000.000Euro (1.790.000 Dollars)
Porsche 2.000.000Euro (1.790.000Dollars)

(Figures in Euro: German car magazine "Auto Motor und Sport", May 2001)"

RIDICULOUS!

The time has arrived for MAJOR cuts. NOW!!

Let's have some level of parity.

A CEO should NOT exceed the salary of the average auto worker's annual salary/wages - $50,000 - times ten = $500,000!

Bring back the former CEO of Chrysler - Lee Iacocca, who cut his salary to $1.- per year!!

...while bringing Chrysler back to the road of recovery.

http://news.smallbusinessstudio.com/...08/145037.html

500AMG

I wholeheartedly agree Karl. The average CEO now make 400(!) times the lower wage earner in his given company. American companies' ratios are far higher than any other country.

I don't know if anyone has heard of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream...but both Ben and Jerry founded the company and would only be paid 6 times the lowest wage earner. Sadly, when they sold the company, the new managment quickly changed that little rule

FInality

Yes and if you read about the trouble B&J had attracting a CEO. There where PLENTY of candidates who all packed up and left the moment they heard about the salary package. Also you need to look at why they sold the company, they company essentially had hippies in charge who put up all these arbritary rules that have no standing in the business world.

Face it top end management is necessary and it is extremely hard to find qualified talented people who can fill those shoes.

I cannot stress enough how easy it is to make things fuc*ed up, fraud is rampant but worse than that is incompetence. Top level managers are essential to forge the companies direction, strategy and goals. If you watch CNN FN when analysts come on they always stress the importance of competent managers and that often goes a long way in company evaluations. I remember at least one ocassion when the CEO of a company died the stock price immediately jumped 5% just because they where happy he was gone.

You are right some CEO compensation packages are absolutely ludicrous; like for example the Disney CEO his compensation package one year came up to $400 Million.

If anything I dont think Daimler board execs are paid enough for what they do. A 10X multiplier is not even 1/5th of what high level managers deserve to get paid.

500AMG

I'm sure we can debate the compensation issue forever. My point regarding B&J (funny abbreviation eh ) was an extreme example. Whether or not they were hippies, they did a pretty damn good job getting that business going; even if they lacked the skills to take it higher. 10x-50x IMO is a reasonable pay multiplier. Jack Welch could easily deserve even higher, considering the immense value he brought to GE. There are many execs who do NOT deserve even a 10x multiplier, but still get one for countless reasons (family ties, friends on compensation committee, etc.).

I had to laugh out loud at some of the tech execs a few years back. Wasn't it Cisco's Chambers that received new options (lower priced) when his company's stock went from $80 to $15? Probably not the best example of behavioral conditioning. This sort of action I find unacceptable...I'm not against paying someone what they are worth.

karl k

If the leader of the free world, the President of the USA earns $400,000 (it was doubled only a couple of years ago), then no private sector employee of a public firm arguably should exceed this, -- considering ALL of the perks incl. retirement packages that go along with positions of leadership.

Talent belongs in show business and is rewarded by public acceptence/popularity; cooking the books of a corporation is not talent - it's criminal.

young

yeah, right. once again, iacocca's overrated reputation precedes him. lee may have taken a cut in salary, but he did pretty well thru stock options. hell, w/ that kind of total compensation package, i'd take a salary pay cut to $0...

http://slate.msn.com/id/2068448/

i find it very ironic that you use the (arguably) first celebrity ceo as a beacon of rational wages for ceo's.

btw, we're capitalists.

FInality

Please... The job of President has never been about the pay. Its always been about the prestige and honor of running the USA (and the rest of the world of course...)

If you take into account the perks of the job that the President receives including the million+++ dollars a day for his personal security. Private 747, private helicopter armed motorcade etc and you would get a figure that rivals a small nations GDP.

karl k

Why did Lee Iacocca's successful turnaround of Chrysler cause the increase of higher commodity futures re rice in the PRC?

Hint:

read the SLATE article above!

karl k

Then your point is: Corporate leadership is about pay, followed by corruption-- and NOT about leadership?

It's about how to screw everybody??

What about their perks?

Did you know that the former GE CEO - Jack Welch - has FREE laundry/dry cleaning service for life?

...plus many more additional perks; - including free use of corporate jet.

PS:

And what does the GDP of a developing nation have to do with the futures of rice in the PRC?

FInality

Welch lost most of those perks when his divorce fillings became public. I still think he deserves most of those perks considering how much he bolstered the common stock price. So what if a CEO makes a ***** load of money? If he quadruppled the stock price doesn't he deserve a MASSIVE pay raise? That is all his job is to bolster share holder value. Any CEO/manager that does that well deserves all the financial rewards they can reap. Besides if you do not pay a CEO what they are worth they will simply find employment with someone who will pay them what they are worth.

Granted some corporate perks are outlandish but when your talking about running a multi-billion dollar a year business you want upper level managers to be as effective as they can be.

Speaking of corruption if its not apparent to you there are still some very shady connections between the current administration and its role with Enron. Cheney still wont release details of his conversations with ex Enron execs.

Not to go into a huge political debate but, it can be argued that the US govt is also out to screw everyone outside the US. Its all a matter of prespective.

karl k

...and next comes Al-Jazeera.

NO tnx!!


:o

FInality

Care to clarify what you mean.

karl k

Sure. Google it.

FInality

I know what Al-Jazeera is.....

Though I still dont understand the point you are trying to make.

karl k

AA AMERICAN AIRLINES - under the lupe:

CEO and management greed is putting it into bankruptcy court!!

While ALL three unions voted last week to take pay CUTS up to $2 billions, management secretly intented to secure their lucrative compensation - plus BONUSES. This became public after the vote of the 3 unions.

Now, the unions will vote again, and unfortunately an alltime great airline might follow the demise of EASTERN, PAN AM...precisely because of the points made earlier:

Good management is about expertize and talent and experience, -- NOT about greed.

Shame on AA management!!