As Chrysler, now controlled by Cerberus Capital Management LP, continues its long climb back to profitability, the company has named Deborah Wahl Meyer as its vice president and chief marketing officer.

Meyer, 44, comes from a six-year stint with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. where she was most recently in charge of promoting the Lexus division as vice president of marketing.

At Chrysler, she will fill the position left vacant by the resignation of George Murphy in May and will report directly to Steven Landry, executive vice president of North American sales, global marketing, service and parts on August 28.

New CEO Bob Nardelli in a statement issued about the Meyer appointment said, "Deborah is a great addition to the leadership team. She brings a proven track record of success to support our brands both in North America and internationally."

Meyer will face challenges in the marketing department where both dealers and consumers have complained over the quality of advertisements that fail to tell the product story.

A particular ad cited as problematic was a spot in which a Dodge Nitro driver, in attempting to jump start a car, sends the vehicle exploding skyward. While entertaining, the piece offered no concrete information about the Nitro.

In general the call has been for more focused and information rich ads that both attract the eye of the consumer but deliver enough detail to make them want to come in for a test drive.

An additional challenge for Meyer may lie in her new boss, Nardellli, himself a controversial choice to head Chrysler due to his history as CEO of Home Depot Inc. During his tenure there, Nardelli cut advertising and marketing budgets.