Jim Press Proves Even Auto Executives Are Subject To Tough Times

When the news broke recently that Jim Press, the deputy CEO of Chrysler, is being hounded by creditors and the IRS for an array of debts, it presented a puzzle. How could an executive who worked at the top of the auto industry for decades get into such financial difficulty? And what turmoil was going on in the personal life of Press, who had been renowned in the industry for his Kansas-bred calm and quiet charm?

The answers appear to lie in two dramatic changes in his life, in which he abruptly left both his wife and his longtime employer for new situations. In 2006, the father of four startled colleagues when he appeared at a Florida car-dealer event with a new girlfriend, attendees told Fortune. The following week, his wife filed for divorce in Los Angeles.

The next year, the remarried executive jumped from his post as president of Toyota's North American unit, where he had worked for 37 years, to become one of the top three executives of Chrysler after its takeover by Cerberus Capital Management, the private-equity firm.



2009 Frankfurt Auto Show Photo Gallery