Heart attacks claim Chrysler Canada, Kia chiefs

Two notable auto executives, Chrysler Canada President Yves Landry and Kia Motors America CEO Greg Warner, died of heart attacks in mid-March. Mr. Landry, 60, an outspoken critic of the Quebec separatist movement and Chrysler's top executive in Canada since 1990, died March 15 of a heart attack while vacationing in St. Petersburg, FL. He was 60. He worked 29 years for Chrysler and regularly appeared as a spokesman for the company in its Canadian advertising campaigns. Born in Thetford Mines, Que., he lived more recently in Windsor, Ont., where he was a civic leader. Mr. Warner, 54, who worked for Ford, Toyota, Hyundai and, most recently as CEO of Kia's North American sales arm, died March 10 in Laguna Beach, CA, of a heart attack brought on by an acute asthma attack. He was the first American executive of a foreign automaker to be named to the parent company's board of directors. Since joining Kia in 1992 he oversaw the Korean automaker's entry into the U.S. and directed its expansion from a marginal presence in four Western states to a nationwide retail operation with 350 dealers and sales of 55,000 vehicles in 1997. He is survived by a daughter, Jenny, and a son, Erik.