Bernhard Set to Return to Chrysler

Former Chrysler Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard will return to the Chrysler Group as chairman, sources confirm.

John Snow, chairman of Cerberus Capital Management LP, the private-equity firm acquiring Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler AG, recently said that a board of oversight will be established to monitor the auto maker’s operations.

Bernhard was contracted by Cerberus as a consultant when the equity firm was performing its due diligence.

Cerberus is scheduled to close the $7.4 billion acquisition deal this quarter, after which Chrysler is expected to reveal the makeup of its board.

Bernhard, whose direct management style clashed with the DaimlerChrysler establishment and led to his ouster in 2004, served most recently as chairman of Volkswagen AG’s core-brand operations. He was driven out of that position late last year in favor of Martin Winterkorn, a protégé of Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech.