 Robert Louis Nardelli (born May 17, 1948, in Old Forge, Pennsylvania) is the chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler. He had earlier served in a similar capacity at The Home Depot from December 2000 to January 2007. Prior to that, Nardelli had risen to become one of the top four executives at General Electric.
He attended Rockford Auburn High School in Rockford, IL and received his Bachelor of Science in business from Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL, where he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Nardelli also earned an MBA from University of Louisville.
General ElectricHe joined GE in 1971 as an entry-level manufacturing engineer. From 1988 to 1991, Nardelli was an executive for a division of construction equipment equipment maker JI Case, which was then part of Tenneco Inc.
By 1995, he had risen to president and CEO of GE Power Systems, also having the title of GE senior vice president. Nardelli was often known as "Little Jack", after his mentor Jack Welch, whom Nardelli had ambitions to succeed as CEO of GE.
When Jack Welch retired as chairman and CEO of GE, a lengthy and well-publicized succession planning saga ensued. Nardelli competed with James McNerney and Jeff Immelt to succeed Welch. With Immelt winning the three-way race, Nardelli and McNerney left GE (as was Welch's plan). About 10 minutes after Welch let him go, Nardelli received a job offer from Ken Langone who at the time was on the boards of both GE and Home Depot.
The Home Depot
Nardelli became CEO of The Home Depot in December 2000 despite having no retail experience. Using the Six Sigma management strategy used at GE, he dramatically overhauled the company and replaced its freewheeling entrepreneurial culture. He changed the decentralized management structure, by eliminating and consolidating division executives. He also installed processes and streamlined operations, most notably implementing a computerized automated inventory system and centralizing supply orders at the Atlanta headquarters.
Nardelli was credited with doubling the sales of the chain and improving its competitive position. Revenue increased from $40.57 billion in 2000 to $85.15 billion in 2005, while profit rose from $12.6 billion to $25.8 billion. While this was a slower rate of growth than Home Depot had previously experienced (the company doubled in size every 4 years from 1979 to 2001), it must be noted that the high growth rates were largely due to rapid expansion. As the company was reaching its retail limit in the US, Nardelli was brought in to shepherd its transition into a mature business.
Some have criticized him for not maintaining the growth that the company had previously experienced, pointing to his huge salary as a sign that he was actually supposed to bring innovation to the company in order to help it maintain its historical growth. During Nardelli's tenure, Home Depot stock was essentially steady while competitor Lowe's stock doubled, which along with his $240 million compensation eventually earned the ire of investors.His blunt, critical and autocratic management style turned off employees and the public. While the board strongly stood by him for most of his tenure, questions about his leadership mounted in 2006, and in an ominous portent of the near future, he was the only director present at the annual meeting; he only allowed shareholders to speak for a minute each.When the board reportedly ousted him in January 2007,Nardelli's severance package was estimated at $210 million. He was succeeded by The Home Depot vice chairman and executive vice president Frank Blake. Blake had served as Nardelli's deputy at both GE Power Systems and Home Depot.
During his tenure at The Home Depot, Nardelli met President Bush at the White House in 2002 and was appointed to Bush's Council on Service and Civic Participation (although he is no longer a member).Nardelli also hosted a garden reception/fundraiser for Bush at his Atlanta home on May 20, 2004
Chrysler
On August 5, 2007, he became chairman and CEO of the newly privatized Chrysler. His current annual salary at Chrysler is $1, with other compensation not publicly disclosed.
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