Thomas T. Stallkamp.

• Author: PORTER, MARTIN D.
• Position: Brief Article

This veteran of 28 years in the automobile industry switches gears to take on a new CEO position and new board appointments.

DURING pleasure trips to Miami, Thomas T. Stallkamp, the former No. 2 executive at Daimler-Chrysler Corp., tears down the highway in one of his favorite cars -- a bright yellow 1950s-styled hotrod coupe. Aptly named the Prowler, the two-seat speedster has an engine that cranks 253 horsepower, a jutting tall end, and rides on nearly three-foot-wide rear tires. To witness a distinguished-looking gent like Stallkamp, at age 53, tooling around in such a fearsome-looking vehicle must certainly prompt several stares by passersby.

"Cars have always been a hobby of mine," Stallkamp tells DIRECTORS & BOARDS, "which is why I've stayed so long in the car business." He began his career at Ford Motor Co. in 1972, and eight years later joined Chrysler Corp., where he remained for 20 years, building over that time a strong reputation on Wall Street for his cost-cutting initiatives and supply-chain management expertise.

Nine months after the $40 billion merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Corp., which was completed during the fall of 1998, Stallkamp left amid an executive shakeup. In January 2000 he became vice chairman and CEO of MSX International Corp., which provides engineering and specialized staffing services. Although Stallkamp is officially out of the car manufacturing business, he remains close to the industry through his work at MSX, whose biggest client is Ford. (MSX is also the company that, among its contract services, painted his Prowler -- the first yellow Prowler ever to hit the streets.) Since leaving Daimler-Chrysler, Stallkamp has also joined the board of PickupTruck.Com., a private company that operates an online community for pickup truck enthusiasts.

"I joined that board out of a curiosity to learn more about dot-coms and the e-commerce business," says Stallkamp. When asked if he owns a pickup, he answers with a laugh, "No. But I do own a sports utility vehicle."

In addition to his new career at MSX, Stallkamp is broadening his business experience through corporate board service. During the last months of his tenure at Daimler-Chrysler, Stallkamp joined the Kmart board, his first outside board. In February, he joined the board of Baxter International Inc., a global medical products company.

"I knew that I would be leaving Daimler-Chrysler at the end of '99," says Stallkamp, "so I thought joining new boards would...