Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Magna's Demel poised for revenge on Marchionne
If Magna International wins control of Opel, Herbert Demel, the supplier's chief operating officer, can perhaps be forgiven for enjoying a feeling of revenge over Sergio Marchionne, who fired him as Fiat Auto CEO.
Vienna-born Demel was the first non-Italian to head Fiat's car business but was ousted by Marchionne in 2005 when the two men clashed over a restructuring strategy for the crisis-hit Italian automaker.
Despite withdrawing Fiat's bid for Opel at the last minute on May 29, Marchionne would still like to add the German carmaker to his Fiat-Chrysler empire.
Demel is playing a key role in stopping him. On June 25, he was in Detroit with Magna co-CEO Siegfried Wolf ironing out sticking points over Magna's Opel offer with General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson and GM's lead negotiator Jim Smith.
Magna remains the front-runner for Opel even if GM is talking with other bidders.
Insiders say Demel will lead the new Opel with the current management team of GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster and Opel Managing Director Hans Demant.
Magna has attracted criticism from some quarters because it does not have any experience running a volume carmaker. Building niche cars at its Magna Steyr unit in Austria is not enough, critics say.
Vienna-born Demel was the first non-Italian to head Fiat's car business but was ousted by Marchionne in 2005 when the two men clashed over a restructuring strategy for the crisis-hit Italian automaker.
Despite withdrawing Fiat's bid for Opel at the last minute on May 29, Marchionne would still like to add the German carmaker to his Fiat-Chrysler empire.
Demel is playing a key role in stopping him. On June 25, he was in Detroit with Magna co-CEO Siegfried Wolf ironing out sticking points over Magna's Opel offer with General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson and GM's lead negotiator Jim Smith.
Magna remains the front-runner for Opel even if GM is talking with other bidders.
Insiders say Demel will lead the new Opel with the current management team of GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster and Opel Managing Director Hans Demant.
Magna has attracted criticism from some quarters because it does not have any experience running a volume carmaker. Building niche cars at its Magna Steyr unit in Austria is not enough, critics say.
DATED: 07.07.09
FEED: ANE
