DETROIT (AP) -- Two top engineering executives at DaimlerChrysler AG resigned to take similar positions at Ford Motor Co.
They became the fourth and fifth senior U.S. executives to leave the former Chrysler Corp. since it merged with Daimler-Benz AG less than four months ago.Chris Theodore, who was senior vice president of platform engineering at DaimlerChrysler, was named Monday as vice president of Ford's large and luxury car vehicle center.
Shamel Rushwin, formerly DaimlerChrysler's vice president of international manufacturing and minivan assembly operations, was named Ford's vice president of advanced manufacturing engineering.
"The experience and expertise that Shamel and Chris bring to Ford will add exceptional depth to an already strong team," Ford President Jac Nasser said Monday in a news release.
In leaving DaimlerChrysler, Theodore and Rushwin follow former public relations chief Steve Harris, who went to General Motors Corp. last month; Dennis Pawley, the former manufacturing chief who retired in January to become a consultant; and Rex Franson, the former president of Chrysler Financial Corp. who resigned in January.
Though DaimlerChrysler was portrayed by its chief architects as a "merger of equals," some U.S. executives have complained privately that the Daimler half of the automaker has taken a firmer grip on the new company. Some, like Harris, were placed in subordinate positions to their counterparts in Stuttgart.
At Ford, Theodore will replace Kenneth Kohrs, who will retire June 1 after 37 years at Ford. Rushwin replaces Roman Krygier, who was named vice president of powertrain operations Jan. 1.