Bob Nardelli

Robert Louis "Bob" Nardelli (born May 17, 1948, in Old Forge, Pennsylvania) is an American businessman. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler. He had earlier served in a similar capacity at The Home Depot from December 2000 to January 2007. Prior to that, Nardelli had risen to become one of the top four executives at General Electric. Condé Nast Portfolio named Nardelli as one of the "Worst American CEOs of All Time".

He attended Rockford Auburn High School in Rockford, Illinois and received his Bachelor of Science in business from Western Illinois University in Macomb, where he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Nardelli also earned an MBA from the University of Louisville. He is married to Susan L. Schmulbach with four children and attends Roman Catholic church.

He joined General Electric in 1971 as an entry-level manufacturing engineer. From 1988 to 1991, Nardelli was an executive for a division of the construction equipment maker, J. I. Case Company, which was then part of Tenneco.

By 1995, he had risen to president and CEO of GE Power Systems, also having the title of GE senior vice president. Nardelli was often known as "Little Jack", after his mentor Jack Welch, whom Nardelli had ambitions to succeed as CEO of GE. When Jack Welch retired as chairman and CEO of GE, a lengthy and well-publicized succession planning saga ensued. Nardelli competed with James McNerney and Jeffrey R. Immelt to succeed Welch. With Immelt winning the three-way race, Nardelli and McNerney left GE (as was Welch's plan). About 10 minutes after Welch let him go, Nardelli received a job offer from Kenneth Langone, who at the time was on the boards of both GE and The Home Depot.

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