Monday, August 6, 2007

Cerberus Exec to Lead Tower Automotive


AP | DETROIT - Tower Automotive's incoming chief executive, named Friday, served for 18 months as a lead automotive consultant for private equity group Cerberus, its new owner.

Mark Malcolm takes over as president and CEO at the auto supplier for the departing Kathleen Ligocki. Cerberus Capital Management LP, which completed its acquisition of the Novi-based supplier this week. Ligocki plans to serve as a consultant with Cerberus, according to a spokeswoman for the group.

Like Ligocki, Malcolm is a former Ford Motor Co. (nyse: F - news - people ) executive. He spent 28 years at the automaker in senior financial positions, most recently as executive vice president and controller of Ford Motor Credit (nyse: FCJ - news - people ).

"I have tremendous respect for Kathleen Ligocki," Malcolm said in a statement. "Her leadership was instrumental in steering the company through bankruptcy and positioning it for the future."

Ligocki said in the statement that Malcolm "is an excellent choice to lead the company" and wished him and the company "well as they now face the global marketplace as part of a much stronger company."

Tower announced Tuesday it had completed the sale to Cerberus. Tower said the sale concludes its restructuring process and finalizes its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which it had been operating under since February 2005.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on July 11 approved Tower Automotive LLC's reorganization plan and its sale.

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