When people heard of the firing:
I wonder how many "high fives" were to be seen at HP world wide?

What amazes me of this stuff is that even when they are bad they get
millions to go. I'm in the wrong business.

Since Mercedes was  in the news on the HP list a few weeks ago here's
another bad CEO:

Bill
****
Issue 284, February 16, 2005
by Peter M. DeLorenzo


The One Constant Thread in DaimlerChrysler's Troubles Has To Go.

Detroit. In a stunning reversal of fortune, DaimlerChrysler's
U.S.-basedChrysler Group is now the little engine that can for the formerly
swaggeringGerman conglomerate. Flush with hot-selling products and a cost
structurethat's finally under control, the Chrysler Group in nearby Auburn
Hills isbasically keeping the DaimlerChrysler Empire from imploding as you
read this.As recently as 18 months ago, this scenario would have been
inconceivable,and a year before that it would have been impossible, but now
the ChryslerGroup is carrying the ball for the proud company, as their
German-based counterpartsseem to be unable to right themselves from a
self-induced tailspin that isgetting worse, instead of better.

Dieter Zetsche and his troops deserve a large measure of creditfor the
latest Chrysler Group renaissance, but that has to be shared withWolfgang
Bernhard, who did much of the heavy lifting that got them to thispoint,
before he was summarily dismissed after crossing swords with
JuergenSchrempp, the imperious CEO of DaimlerChrysler, over Schrempp's
desire to pump Mitsubishi with more cash, and over Bernhard's vision for
what the Mercedes-Benzdivision, which he left Auburn Hills to take over, had
to do in order to compete in the new automotive world that Mercedes had
slowly, but surely, lost touch with.

Mercedes insiders were appalled, incensed and insulted at what Bernhard was
so bluntly telling them -- that they were operating in the automotive Dark
Ages, and that if Mercedes didn't fundamentally alter the way they did
business, they would be left in the dust by competitors who were doing a
better job at delivering compelling luxury products with superior
reliability and quality - and they were doing it with a cost structure that
was growing more advantageous by the hour.

Mercedes-Benz executives bristled at what Bernhard was saying and chafed at
his "take no prisoners" style. Schrempp used the Mitsubishiconfrontation as
an excuse to get rid of Bernhard, but at the end of theday, the conclusion
to this short story was that Bernhard was right - andSchrempp and his
minions were dead wrong.

Bernhard has gone on to be Number Two at VW, where he will havehis work cut
out for him and will have to put his considerable skills tothe test.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is floundering and bleeding money by theboatloads.

Even though Mercedes ended up doing almost everything Bernhardinsisted they
had to do after he left - they backed out of giving more moneyto Mitsubishi,
they won concessions from the unions, they started to attacktheir quality
issues and costs, and they started to get their arms aroundthe fact that
Mercedes-Benz as a brand was in deep trouble - it may be toolittle, too
late.

How much trouble? Schrempp just recently broke the grim newsto journalists
that the Mercedes-Benz Car Group's operating profits weredown almost 50
percent in 2004, and that the only bright spot for the overallcompany was
the Chrysler Group's performance in the U.S. Not exactly whatSchrempp's
"vision" had in mind for the company when he orchestrated thebuyout of
Chrysler.

Not only that, it's deeply embarrassing and humiliating forSchrempp and his
loyalists in Stuttgart to admit that their U.S. arm is outperformingthe
flagship German luxury brand, which is now clearly in a downward spiral.

You can assemble a long list of suspects who contributed tothe decline of
Mercedes-Benz, but in the end, it falls on one man's shoulders- and that man
is Juergen Schrempp.

Under Schrempp's watch, Mercedes not only embarked on a disastrousmarch down
market in the U.S. by pumping up the volume, it embraced a flawedcost
cutting strategy that revolved around cheapening the pieces underneaththe
skin, instead of dealing with the fundamental cost structure issues thathad
had gone wildly out of control. This double whammy dramatically and
immeasurablycheapened the brand's image. On top of that, Mercedes engineers
flipped headover heels for electronics, dumping complicated systems and
technologiesinto its cars that were unproven and problematic, destroying
what was oncea proud reputation for quality and reliability in just four
years, whichin the car business is literally overnight. Adding insult to
absurdity, Mercedes-Benznow finds itself behind Chrysler in quality
rankings, which is about as embarrassingand humiliating as it gets for an
inbred culture that still believes it buildsthe best cars in the world.

And in the face of the burgeoning doomsday reality facing Mercedes,a reality
that Wolfgang Bernhard so forcefully telegraphed, Schrempp haspressed on,
either blissfully unaware of the consequences, or blinded byhis own
arrogance and unable to get it.

Now, Mercedes-Benz finds itself in an unfamiliar position, akinto an aging
prize fighter who's punched out in the late rounds, trying tomount one last
comeback, and yet Schrempp stillbelieves that things will work out somehow,
although he's unable to givefinancial analysts and investors any concrete
evidence as to why - in orderto relieve them of their growing concern.

Schrempp's hold on the all-powerful Deutsche Bank is
legendary(DaimlerChrysler's mega investor), but I find it hard to believe
that hehas survived this long after being single-handedly responsible for
runningone of the greatest luxury brands in the world right into the ground.
Anyother executive in any other industry with the likes of Schrempp's
dismaltrack record would have been fired years ago.

Schrempp's contract runs until the spring of 2008, but if
DaimlerChryslerplans on being a force to be reckoned with in the automobile
business inthe foreseeable future, the one constant thread in their troubles
has togo.

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