Good luck! Chrysler hires Lexus' ex-president of marketing

Chrysler has announced that it's hired Deborah Wahl Meyer to be its new vice president and chief marketing officer (CMO), replacing George Murphy, who retired last May. Meyer comes from Toyota, where she's worked since 2001, most recently as the VP of marketing for Lexus. The report from Automotive News pretty much ends there, but we found this article on adage.com that reveals what Meyer may have in store.
It appears Ms. Meyer will report directly to Bob Nardelli, the recently appointed CEO of Chrysler. Mr. Nardelli is expected to slash Chrysler's advertising budget just like he did as CEO of Home Depot. Apparently Nardelli views an advertising budget as a deep reservoir of available funds, as another source expects him to trim it further to pay for Chrysler's extremely high warranty costs at the moment.

So it appears Meyer may have one hand tied behind her back when she becomes Chrysler's new CMO. She must have been aware of the situation when she accepted the offer, however, so perhaps she sees hope in Chrysler's new beginning.

[Source: Automotive News, Ad Age]

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