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Joseph Dehner
Age: 44.
New job: Head of Dodge design.
Previous job: Vice president of production car, minivan, truck and Jeep design.
Past vehicle programs: Chrysler Pacifica, Crossfire, 2007 Chrysler Sebring sedan and convertible, 2001 Sebring and Stratus exterior.
Brandon Faurote
Age: 37.
New job: Head of Chrysler design.
Previous job: Vice president of advance design, international and color/trim.
Past vehicle programs: Chrysler Firepower concept, Dodge Neon, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chrysler Sebring coupe, 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Mark Allen
Age: 46.
New job: Head of Jeep design.
Previous job: Chief of Jeep/Dodge truck design.
Past vehicle programs: 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty, 2009 Dodge Ram 1500, 2006 Jeep Wrangler.
Under Fiat S.p.A., Chrysler Group L.L.C. is moving rapidly to organize around its three brands: Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.
Chrysler’s three brands now have their own design heads. All report to Ralph Gilles, senior vice president of product design. The changes reflect the Fiat emphasis on design and strong brands.
Further appointments in the three brand organizations are imminent, said a source familiar with Chrysler’s planning.
The three design heads are:
Joseph Dehner, Dodge
Brandon Faurote, Chrysler
Mark Allen, Jeep
Brand autonomy
New CEO Sergio Marchionne is moving swiftly to reorganize Chrysler, much as he did at Fiat after taking over as CEO in 2004. At Fiat, each brand is a business responsible for its own profit and loss. Chrysler will function the same way.
Those brand heads — Peter Fong at Chrysler, Michael Accavitti at Dodge and Michael Manley at Jeep — will act as customers to the other parts of the organization: engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing and so on. Marchionne believes in removing layers of management and giving executives cross-functional responsibilities.
Marchionne has 23 Chrysler executives reporting directly to him; all have been appointed. Further appointments in their teams will be announced soon.
Designing by brand
When Marchionne came to Fiat, each of the three major brands — Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia — had its own separate design center. Marchionne consolidated the Fiat and Lancia brands at a single studio in Turin, Italy. Alfa Romeo’s studio remains in Milan.
Marchionne also appointed a design chief over all the brands, Lorenzo Ramaciotti. But each of the three brands has its own design chief, who reports to Ramaciotti.
When Marchionne took over as Chrysler CEO, he announced that chief designer Gilles would report directly to him, a change from Chrysler’s previous setup. Under previous owner, Cerberus Capital Management L.P., design had been a part of the product development organization and Gilles reported to Frank Klegon, the now-retired executive vice president of product development.
Scott Kunselman replaced Klegon as senior vice president of product development.
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