Chrysler group marketing chief George Murphy has become the first senior executive to resign following the automaker’s announcement of its planned sale to private investor Cerberus Capital Management.
Murphy will leave at the end of this month, “in order to pursue other opportunities” and no replacement has been named, Chrysler said.
“George has made a key contribution to our efforts to retool our brands,” said said the automaker’s head of North American sales, marketing, service and parts, Steven Landry. “Most recently, he engineered a new identity for the Chrysler brand featuring a new theme line — Engineered Beautifully.” The new advertising campaign began on 8 May.
Murphy joined Chrysler in 2001 after two years with Ford where he was general marketing manager for the Ford Division. Prior to joining Ford he was with General Electric for 11 years.
A US report noted that Murphy was the third key executive to leave Chrysler in recent weeks. The others were head of supply Peter Rosenfeld and marketing and vehicle development executive Ann Fandozzi.
