Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne made it clear yesterday that he has no intention of running Chrysler LLC if the partnership with Fiat Group comes to fruition. Photo: Marchionne (centre) with Fiat Group Chairman Luca di Montezemolo (left) and the now-departed Alfa Romeo CEO Luca De Meo (right) during the launch of the Alfa MiTo in Milan last July.

Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne who has masterminded the proposed alliance with Chrysler LLC has made it clear that he has no intention of running the American company if the partnership comes to fruition.

Marchionne said yesterday he has "absolutely no intention" of running Chrysler in the future. "There is not going to be a direct operating responsibility," he told journalists and analysts in the conference call on Thursday following the publication of Fiat's fourth quarter and full year financial results.

However Marchionne did confirm that he would join the Chrysler board. Under the terms of the agreement, Fiat will get a 35 percent stake in Chrysler, with an option to increase this to majority 55 percent within a year for a nominal additional payment of US$20 million, and initially the Italian firm will receive three seats on the US carmaker's seven man board. "I have not yet made a specific time commitment to Chrysler, but turning Chrysler around is part of the process of strengthening Fiat Group automotive operations. Thus it is simply part of my job," he told reporters during the conference call.

Marchionne also said that he was happy with the performance of Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli and Vice-President Tom LaSorda, and he was looking forward to working closely with them. "They have been doing an excellent job there and I really hope they will continue doing so," he said, adding that restoring Chrysler's ailing fortunes was on the face of it a "mission impossible" but with "the right level of concessions" from everyone involved, this ambitious scenario could be achieved. According to Automotive News the concessions he refers to are the estimated US$9 billion in bank loans that Chrysler holds. Marchionne expects these loans to be converted into equity before Fiat takes a 35 percent stake in exchange for Chrysler's access to Fiat's architecture and technology, which are being valued at around US$3 billion.

He will stand back from Chrysler for the moment and won't be joining the top management team led by Nardelli which will present a viable recovery plan to the US Treasury Department on February 17. "I think I would be of almost no use on Capitol Hill, while Nardelli and LaSorda would do a much, much better job than me there," he said during the conference call.