The seeds of fear took root in Eaton's heart.
Today, the origin of Chrysler's fate is Robert Eaton. /kloc-0 became Chrysler's successor in March, 1992. In the early 1990s, Chrysler overtook its competitors in Detroit. But at its peak, Chrysler also became the target of some hunters. Among them, Kirk Ryan, a former boxer and pilot who later became a billionaire because of his involvement in aviation, real estate and film and television, announced in a high-profile way that he would buy shares in the hands of ordinary shareholders at a price of $55 in cash per share.
In the face of a $22.8 billion acquisition, Eaton refused, but Kirk Ryan not only made Eaton realize that Chrysler could not afford it, but also planted the seeds of fear in the hearts of engineers. Fear of the future defeated Eaton, and he needed someone to stand with him. So, Eaton, who announced that he didn't want to unite with other people or enterprises or be acquired, asked his deputy to find someone to contact.
Schlempp: From truck driver to Mandela's friend.
In Eaton's vision, the most suitable merger object on earth is Daimler-Benz of Germany. On the other side of the Atlantic, Daimler-Benz is also looking for possible partners around the world, and the answer is clear: Chrysler. So, Juergen, chairman of Daimler-Benz? Schlempp walks into Eaton's office.
The two people who are about to meet in Detroit may be the two most different creatures in the world. If Eaton is cold and dreary, then Schlempp is like an engine that burns forever. He is tall, strong and full of energy. He once climbed the Italian Alps with meissner, and meissner was the first climber to cross eustace Mountain without oxygen. He starts to work crazily every morning, smoking Marlboro cigarettes one after another all day, and eating and drinking instead of resting at night.
Fearless and extraordinary energy, Schlempp became the leader of this German industrial giant from a truck mechanic (euphemistically called "truck after-sales attendant"). While working in South Africa, he openly opposed South Africa's apartheid policy and became friends with South African black leader nelson mandela.
17 minutes to complete the most important merger in business history.
Facing Eaton, Schlempp cut to the chase, just like talking about a five-dollar deal: "You don't have much time, and I don't have any ... so get to the point. I evaluated Chrysler and my own company. Many people in our two companies are talking about the global automobile industry of 1995- 1996. I came to the conclusion that it would be very suitable if our two companies merged. Products, geographical conditions, everything matches. Right? "
After a pause, Schlempp saw that Eaton said nothing. He went on to say, "Of course, if you think I'm a little hasty, please tell me. I'm sorry if you think this way is not good, but it's nothing. I just need an answer. What do you think? "
Fear and Schlempp's direct expression made Eaton, who had always been silent, not hesitate too much. It only took 17 minutes, and the meeting was over. After going out, Schlempp smiled and said to his wife, "It was so fast that he didn't even have time to buy me a cup of coffee. This is great! " 10 days later, Eaton called Schlempp and said it was worth sitting down and talking.
Negotiators, including lawyers, legal advisers and bankers, spent eight days reaching a clear conclusion: the best scheme to ensure the tax exemption of shareholders is to form a new German company. But "tax exemption" can't solve another problem-who put the names of Daimler and Chrysler before the name of the new company?
The Americans gave in again. 1998 On the morning of May 7th 10, Eaton and Schlempp signed a formal merger agreement between Chrysler and Daimler-Benz in London.
Schlempp took the female secretary, and Eaton chose to fade out.
June, 5438+February of that year, Daimler-Chrysler held the first German-American high-level gathering, where everyone ate, drank and had fun together, competed with each other and enhanced mutual understanding. Because of the time difference, Eaton went back to his old place to rest early, but Schlempp took people to the party. He sang all the popular songs that people can think of. In the early morning, he shouldered the female secretary, grabbed a bottle of champagne with the other hand and went back to his room. Just like their leaders, the two companies are so different-all these problems are not only difficult to complement each other, but even insurmountable.
In a public speech, Eaton talked about sacrifice. First, his eyes were blurred, his face was flushed and his voice choked, and he soon sobbed in front of 300 company executives. When people applauded Eaton's self-exposure, Schlempp asked Chrysler President Stekamp sitting next to him, "Do you know what he is doing? I know, he said goodbye. "
Yes, since then, Eaton has gradually faded out of the company's decision-making level.
1In August, 1999, holden, the head of Chrysler's marketing and sales, received a job invitation-he was invited to become the president of Auto World, a chain car sales company with more than 400 stores. In order to keep holden, Eaton ordered Stekamp, president of the company, to leave. Stunned, Stekamp finally accepted this absurd request to save his retirement compensation.
In the second half of 2000, Chrysler suffered an astonishing loss of $1800 million, which was the first operating loss in nine years. Schlempp shrugged off Chrysler President holden's decision and decided that dieter zetsche, his confidant and then 47-year-old head of the commercial vehicle department, would immediately take over the American company.
At that time, there were only two Americans left in the company management Committee of 13 people, among whom Tom, who was in charge of product development and design? Gail will retire at the end of the year.
The tenacious Dieter dieter zetsche injected vitality into Chrysler.
Dieter zetsche, wearing small round glasses and a bushy moustache, looks amiable. At many Chrysler new car launches, he would rush into the venue from behind the ice wall with his guitar. This is rare among Germans. But if we discuss the biggest difference between Dieter dieter zetsche and Eaton, it is best to use the words of his former colleague: "He can be very tough when necessary." Only a few hours after dieter zetsche arrived at Chrysler headquarters in Detroit, he fired three company executives, including marketing and sales director, chief executive officer and public relations director. The smartest decision he made was to let the company develop two hot-selling models: 300C and Dodge Charger. With the help of 300C and Dodge Charger, Chrysler made a profit of $1800 million in 2005. At the same time, both GM and Ford suffered billions of dollars in losses.
Rumors of Chrysler being sold reappeared.
Just as Chrysler gradually showed some anger, in July 2005, Schlempp, 60, suddenly announced that he would retire at the end of the year and leave the company where he had worked for 44 years. His work contract initially lasted until 2008.
Schlump is really in trouble. In his blueprint for a global business empire, the alliance with Mitsubishi Motors of Japan was a complete failure. When Chrysler's situation improved, Mercedes-Benz business fell into the first loss in nearly 10 years. In the end, the board lost patience with Schlempp and asked him to retire. Dieter Dieter zetsche, who performed well at Chrysler, became Schlempp's successor.
But the bad news is that Chrysler's sales have gone wrong. In September 2006, Chrysler announced that it would cut its planned output in the second half of the year by 65,438+06%. But the Germans don't seem to think that they have the obligation and the ability to save Chrysler again. As a result, rumors that Chrysler may be sold began to reverberate in the automobile industry.
Key figures:
-Eton, the initiator of the merger. Because of the politics of Chrysler, he mistakenly became the top leader of American logo company, but the engineer lived in fear for a long time because of a hostile takeover. He is willing to pay any price to liberate himself, including his position and the soul of Chrysler.
-Schlempp, head of the merger. The chess player carefully planned a game of chess, thus turning the merger of "equivalence" into a seriously inclined acquisition. But this man who claimed to have nine lives eventually became a scapegoat for poor performance and was ousted by the board of directors.
-Stekamp, President of Chrysler. One of the few American executives who dared to confront Schlempp directly rejected Schlempp's invitation, forcing Eaton to retire as soon as possible, but in the end Eaton was ousted in an inexplicable way.
-holden, Stekamp's successor. Different from his predecessor, he actively cooperated with Schlempp, but under his management, Chrysler suffered losses for the first time in nine years and was dismissed by Schlempp.
-Dieter dieter zetsche, the cleaner. One of the most difficult roles to define, this German saved the falling Chrysler, but now he is trying to sell it. This time, Chrysler's valuation is $8 billion, which is 2/9 of the original purchase price.