Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is losing its global head of powertrain development and a member of its top management circle at the end of April.
Bob Lee, a 41-year veteran of Chrysler, has been a member of the automaker’s highest decision-making body, which it calls the Group Executive Council, since 2011. Lee was unavailable for comment on his departure.
An FCA spokeswoman confirmed Lee’s retirement and said the company doesn’t have an immediate announcement to make about his successor.
Lee is perhaps best known for leading the rebirth of FCA's iconic Hemi V-8 engine in the early 2000s and later its Pentastar V-6 engine. In a company blog post published last month, he recounted the development and commercial success of that V-6 engine.
“Many of the people who helped make it happen are still here today -- including me,” he wrote.
He leaves the automaker as it ramps up an electrification strategy in the face of tightening emissions regulations in Europe and China. The company has lobbied in support of the the Trump administration’s plan to reevaluate U.S. fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards.
Lee joined Chrysler in 1978 as an engineer-in-training.
