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- <text id=90TT1513>
- <title>
- June 11, 1990: Out Of The Oil Pan. . .
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1990
- June 11, 1990 Scott Turow:Making Crime Pay
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- BUSINESS, Page 47
- Out of the Oil Pan...</hdr>
- <body>
- <p>Iacocca's copilot takes wing
- </p>
- <p> As vice chairman of Chrysler, Gerald Greenwald, 54, was
- considered the crown prince who would succeed Lee Iacocca as
- head of Detroit's No. 3 auto company. A quietly self-assured
- master of finance, Greenwald helped save Chrysler from
- bankruptcy in the 1970s by cutting production costs and lining
- up Government financing. But Greenwald stunned Detroit last
- week with his decision to quit the troubled automaker in order
- to lead the proposed $4.4 billion employee buyout of UAL, the
- parent company of United Air Lines.
- </p>
- <p> Greenwald denied the widespread industry rumor that his
- decision was influenced by the apparent reluctance of Iacocca,
- 65, to retire anytime soon. The Chrysler chairman seems
- determined to stay at the helm until he pulls off another
- comeback for the company, which is suffering from weak sales
- and profits. Greenwald is the third top Chrysler executive to
- leave in the past month, following Michael Hammes, 48, the head
- of international operations, and Frederick Zuckerman, 55, the
- corporate treasurer. The exodus has prompted suspicion of an
- internal dispute over Chrysler's strategy, most notably whether
- the automaker should seek a merger with a European or Japanese
- rival.
- </p>
- <p> With Greenwald's departure, Chrysler insiders began focusing
- on two dissimilar executives as Iacocca's apparent heirs.
- Robert Miller, 48, a financial expert with little exposure to
- product development, was promoted to vice chairman, and will
- handle most of Greenwald's duties. Robert Lutz, 58, a former
- fighter pilot who is president of Chrysler's automaking
- operations, will have expanded responsibility for quality and
- productivity.
- </p>
- <p> Greenwald's first task in his new post at UAL will be to
- persuade skeptical lenders to support the buyout, which has an
- Aug. 9 deadline. If the buyout succeeds, Greenwald will become
- UAL chairman, replacing current boss Stephen Wolf. Wall Street,
- for its part, remains chary of the deal. UAL's stock closed at
- $159 last week, far below the proposed $201-a-share takeover
- price.
- </p>
-
- </body>
- </article>
- </text>
-
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