Names & Faces

Light & Medium Truck, May 2008

GMAC Taps De Molina as CEO

GMAC LLC, the auto and home lender formerly owned by General Motors Corp., named Alvaro De Molina chief executive officer to replace Eric Feldstein.

Feldstein, who had led GMAC since 2002, will join Cerberus Capital Management LP, the private equity group that bought 51 % of GMAC in 2006, the firm said in a statement.

GMAC had a loss of $2.3 billion last year because of mounting defaults on home loans issued by its Residential Capital LLC mortgage unit and a drop in auto-lending profit. Although the company said on Feb. 5 it expects to make money this year, declining home prices and weaker demand for cars will make that challenging, said credit analyst Pete Hastings at Morgan Keegan in Memphis, Tenn.

Karmak Gets New Chief IT Officer

Karmak Inc. recently named John Lebel as chief technology officer. Lebel's new duties will include setting the technology direction for all Karmak products and overseeing the information technology operations of Karmak's offices. Karmak supplies software applications to fleets and retailers that sell and service trucks, tractors and trailers, plus retail and wholesale businesses that distribute parts.

Navistar Appoints Parts Head

Navistar International said Josef (Joe) Kory was named vice president of Global Distribution Operations, Navistar Parts. Kory previously was general operations manager for Paccar Parts at Paccar Corp., and also worked for Ford Motor Co.

Cummins Promotes Engineers

Cummins Inc. promoted Jeff Weikert, formerly executive director of midrange engineering, to vice president of midrange engineering. Weikert is an 18-year Cummins veteran. The company also promoted Steve Charlton, formerly executive director of heavy-duty engineering, to vice president of heavy-duty engineering.

NTEA Names President

Dennis Jones, vice president of sales and marketing for Auto Truck Group, Bensenville, 111., was installed as the president of the National Truck Equipment Association. Auto Truck Group has been a distributor member of NTEA since 1973. Jones has served on NTEA's board of trustees since 2003.

Modine CEO Retires

Modine Manufacturing Co. said Chief Executive Officer David Raybum retired March 31, two months after the maker of vehicle heating and cooling parts posted its biggest quarterly loss since at least 1990.

Thomas Burke, chief operating officer, succeeds Rayburn, the Racine, Wis.-based firm said in a statement.

Ford Personnel Leader Leaves

Ford Motor Co. announced the departure of the personnel chief who helped recruit Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally.

Joe Laymon left Ford to become a vice president at Chevron Corp., the second-biggest U.S. oil company. He will be replaced by Felicia Fields as group vice president of human resources and corporate services, Ford said.

Laymon, who came to Ford in 2000, helped recruit Mulally from Boeing Co. in 2006 and also was involved in labor talks.