NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wolfgang Bernhard, who served as chief operating officer of the Chrysler Group before moving over to Volkswagen, will be returning to Chrysler as its chairman after it is sold by DaimlerChrysler, according to published reports.
Bernhard has been advising private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which is buying a controlling stake in Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler, throughout the sales negotiation process.
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| Wolfgang Bernhard. |
DaimlerChrysler and Cerberus have emphasized that Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda would remain in that position after the sale. The reports about Bernhard's return indicate that is still the case, that LaSorda will remain in charge of day-to-day operations at the money-losing automaker, with Bernhard serving as a non-executive chairman after the closing, now expected for mid-August.
The move was initially reported by a German magazine Manager, then confirmed by a number of top U.S. newspapers Friday. Cerberus spokesman Peter Duda told several of the newspapers, "There is no such plan at this time." But the papers report that while the details of the structure of the boards that will oversee a privately-held Chrysler are still being worked out, it had been agreed that Bernhard would be the top director.
Bernhard has significant experience in turning around money-losing automakers. He was at Chrysler from 2000 to 2004, served as No. 2 at Chrysler to Dieter Zetsche, who then served as CEO of the North American automaker.
Bernhard was part of a restructuring and cost-cutting effort announced there in February 2001 that helped turn around Chrysler. It continued to post profits in 2005 and early 2006, even as rivals General Motors and Ford Motor started reporting losses.
In February 2004, Bernhard was named to head Daimler's Mercedes unit, which was also in need of a turnaround. He was due to assume the post there in August that year.
But leading up to that he reportedly clashed with both Mercedes management and the powerful German unions at the automaker, as well as then DaimlerChrysler CEO Jurgen Schrempp. On July 29, three days before he was to assume the Mercedes post, the DaimlerChrysler announced he was leaving the company.
That fall he joined Volkswagen's board of management, initially without any assigned title or responsibilities. He was soon put in charge of its bloated VW division. He helped to trim staff there and improved its lineup. But his position became tenuous there in the fall of 2006 when the CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, who had brought him on board, was himself driven out. Bernhard left VW early this year.
In February DaimlerChrysler announced it would look at a possible sale of the money-losing Chrysler unit, and it soon became clear that private equity firms would be the top bidders, rather than other automakers. Bernhard became the advisor to Cerberus in its talks, which was seen helping its chances given his relationship with DaimlerChrysler Chairman and CEO Zetsche, who got the top job at the automaker last year.
He also reportedly has a good working relationship with LaSorda, who served as executive vice president of manufacturing at Chrysler Group under Bernhard, and who succeeded Bernhard as chief operating officer of the unit when he left. 
