Federal-Mogul CEO Resigns, Former CEO Returns

Federal-Mogul Corporation (USA), operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since third quarter 2001, had its CEO abruptly quit, with a two-time former CEO named as his replacement. Charles G. ("Chip") McClure resigned as his contract expired, little more than a year after being appointed CEO; he had been F-M's President and COO since joining the company in 2001. Mr. McClure is joining autoparts manufacturer ArvinMeritor, Inc. (USA), replacing that company's retiring Chairman, CEO and President, Larry Yost. Federal-Mogul's latest Chapter 11 reorganization plan was approved by creditors recently, and the company expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection by Fall 2004. Mr. McClure said, "It is unfortunate that I will not be with the company as it prepares to emerge from Chapter 11. It is an exciting time in Federal-Mogul's history and I wish it all the best." Replacing Mr. McClure will be Robert Stevens ("Steve") Miller Jr. as Interim Chief Executive Officer, pending the appointment of a new CEO. Mr. Miller is currently non-executive Chairman of Federal-Mogul's board of directors. Steve Miller is no stranger to the role. A Stanford Economics / Harvard Law background brought him into turnaround situations, where he helps troubled companies get back on their feet. Mr. Miller has twice before held the "transitional" Acting CEO position at Federal-Mogul -- once in 1996 and again in 2000-2001. It was Mr. Miller who engineered the 1996 divestiture of Federal-Mogul's U.S. ball bearing manufacturing operations (Lititz, Pennsylvania and Greensburg, Indiana) to NTN BCA Corporation, a division of NTN (Japan). From September 2000 to January 2001, Mr. Miller was Federal-Mogul's transitional CEO, filling the gap between the time Richard Snell was forced out and the appointment of the new management team which included Mr. McClure. His services are not inexpensive; during his 2000-2001 tenure, Mr. Miller received a pay package of $20,000 per month, plus benefits, plus stock options. When Mr. McClure's management team took over in January 2001, Mr. Miller began his term as non-executive Chairman. He left the company at the end of September 2001, just as Federal-Mogul was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Since 2001, Mr. Miller has been Chairman and CEO of Bethlehem Steel Corp. (USA). • article: Miller joins Bethlehem Steel as turnaround CEO Among his most notable accomplishments, Mr. Miller's history includes 12 years at Chrysler Corporation, where he was the chief negotiator involved in engineering the company's government bailout in 1980.