In an announcement made late yesterday, Bob Nardelli, one-time Home Depot chief, has been named as the chair and CEO of Chrysler LLC in place of Tom LaSorda.

LaSorda will stay at Chrysler as vice chairman and president, but will report to Nardellli. In a statement LaSorda said, "We are excited to welcome Bob to the Chrysler family. [He] has a proven track record of success and an unwavering focus on performance."

Nardelli, in his own statement, said, "I am very excited to be part of a team focused on re-establishing Chrysler as a standalone industry leader, with a renewed focus on meeting the needs of customers."

The change in leadership, which also included the resignation of Chief Operating Officer Eric Ridenour, reflects the speed with which Cerberus, the private equity fund that acquired an 80.1 percent stake in Chrysler for $7.4 billion, is moving forward to retool the foundering company.

Nardelli, a controversial figure for the $210 million severance deal he received from Home Depot in January, which included a $20 million cash payment, will assume the senior post for a salary of $1 per year with additional compensation linked to the success of the company's performance.

Chrysler, which lost $680 million last year, has predicted no improvement in earnings until 2008 after a restructuring program that will include slashing 13,000 jobs and closing a plant currently producing the poor-selling Dodge Durango.

In addition to announcing changes to the corporate line-up, Chrysler is also celebrating the return of its corporate logo, the pentastar, discontinued after its merger with Daimler-Benz in 1998.