羅伯特?伊頓

1993至1998年任克萊斯勒CEO

????盧茨說：“他是一個魅力和能力都不錯的領導,，但是在‘對等合并’中在計謀上慘敗給了狡猾的德國人,。”

盧茨的打分：229

????鮑伯?伊頓被招進克萊斯勒當李?艾柯卡的接班人之前,，他還是通用汽車的歐洲區(qū)負責人,。鮑伯是個有經驗、有禮貌,、講話得體,、懂業(yè)務的人。由于在通用的幾十年里看慣了業(yè)務的一片大好和蒸蒸日上,，養(yǎng)成了他成熟,、冷靜、自信的風度,。我們很好地分擔了各自的職責,。我們的產品很受歡迎，而且我們也保證了多數(shù)功勞都被算在鮑伯頭上,。他的聰明才智告訴他要學會適可而止,，不要插手他認為憑自己的力氣很難改進的事。

????1998年,，戴姆勒-奔馳（Daimler-Benz）與克萊斯勒合并后,，戴姆勒的CEO尤根?施倫普來到奧本山，他和鮑伯一起制訂了一份一開始被稱為“對等合并”的計劃,。施倫普是個威風凜凜的高個大漢,，聲音宏亮，鮑伯?伊頓有點矮胖,，臉上有些皺紋,，外表低調?？梢赃@么說,，施倫普就像站在鮑伯身邊的一個傲慢的巨人。很顯然這次合并絕對不會使雙方變成一家聯(lián)營企業(yè),。不久后鮑伯就離職了,，據(jù)稱拿到了2.5億美元左右的遣散費。

????克萊斯勒的命運很快走上了下坡路。鮑伯?伊頓成了過街老鼠,。他是導致克萊斯勒半死不活的總設計師,，是輕易就被老經世故的施倫普騙了的笨蛋。但是在這些針對伊頓的中傷中,，很多人忘了一點,，那就是他已經做到了私人企業(yè)系統(tǒng)希望一個CEO能做到的事：他運營了一家優(yōu)秀的公司，使它成了一個值得并購的合作伙伴,，而且把它與一個更大的公司進行了合并,，在這個過程中為克萊斯勒的股東創(chuàng)造了巨大的財富。鮑伯?伊頓的聲譽受損是不公平的,。

Robert Eaton

CEO Chrysler 1993-98

????Lutz says: "A gentle leader of modest charisma and command presence, he was badly outmaneuvered by the wily Germans in the ill-fated 'merger of equals.'"

Lutz grade: 229

????When Bob Eaton was recruited to succeed Iacocca, he was head of GM Europe. Bob was experienced, polite, well-spoken, and knew the business. He showed the mature, calm confidence and self-assured manner that had been honed in decades of facing upward and looking good at GM. We had a good sharing of responsibilities. The products were hits, and we made sure that Bob Eaton got most of the credit. Bob's considerable intelligence told him to leave well enough alone and not try to insert himself or his authority into something he realized he could hardly improve.

????After Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merged in 1998, Daimler's Jürgen Schrempp came to Auburn Hills, and he and Bob sketched out the beginnings of what was to be heralded as a "merger of equals." A tall man with a powerful, commanding physique and a stentorian voice, Schrempp was, to put it mildly, a brash giant next to Bob Eaton's small, slightly rumpled, slightly pudgy, and generally low-key appearance. It was pretty clear that this was not going to be a jointly run company, and Bob soon departed, richer by a reported roughly $250 million.

????The fortunes of Chrysler soon went south. Bob Eaton became a pariah, the architect of Chrysler's semi-demise, the gullible fool who had been tricked by the worldly J. Schrempp. What got lost in all the vilification of Eaton was that he had done what the private enterprise system expects of its CEOs: He ran a great company, made it a desirable partner, and merged it into a larger company, in the process creating enormous wealth for Chrysler's shareholders. Bob Eaton had his reputation unfairly tarnished.