Bigland leaves big jobs to fill

DETROIT — Ram's interim North American chief, Mike Koval Jr., says outgoing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles U.S. sales boss Reid Bigland pushed him to be the best he can be.

Now it's up to Koval to take what he learned under Bigland and keep the truck brand's momentum going. Bigland, a do-it-all executive who has spent 22 years at Chrysler and FCA, is stepping down next month after his 2019 whistleblower lawsuit helped bring the relationship to a premature end.

Bigland, who claimed in the lawsuit that FCA retaliated against him for aiding a U.S. investigation into sales-reporting practices by withholding his compensation, is leaving April 3 after coming to an amicable resolution with the automaker.

Bigland, a bodybuilding enthusiast known for his 4 a.m. workouts, built a solid reputation as a tough but fair operator who challenged dealers.

He leaves at a time when Ram is flourishing. The brand achieved record U.S. sales in 2019, with its pickup line topping the Chevrolet Silverado for the first time with a combination of power and luxury.

Koval said things have been moving quickly as the company reshuffles. He views his interim appointment as an opportunity and called Bigland a "spectacular leader."

"I'm going to come to work every day like I always have, and I'm going to do the best I can to lift this brand up and help the brand grow into the future and, hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to secure the permanent position," Koval told Automotive News. "I look at it as I'm applying for the job. I feel like I'm certainly ready, and I look forward to the challenge."

Bigland's workload as head of U.S. sales, the Ram brand and FCA Canada is being broken up among three executives. Koval will handle Bigland's Ram responsibilities, while Jeff Kommor, vice president of FCA's sales and fleet operations, becomes the new U.S. sales chief. David Buckingham, COO of FCA Canada, assumes the leadership duties for that unit.

Koval, hired by DaimlerChrysler in 2002, knows the ins and outs of Ram. In 2016, he became head of Ram brand operations for North America, a role with responsibility over marketing, pricing and inventory. He was promoted last summer to Ram's director of U.S. product marketing. He also has held numerous roles in customer relations, incentives and supply chain and has worked closely with dealers over the years.

Phil Bivens, head of FCA's dealer council, said Bigland's full slate was a byproduct of the tenure of late CEO Sergio Marchionne, who "had high expectations of a lot of different people."

"Over time, I don't know this, but maybe those roles are better defined in singular roles," Bivens said. "They're all big jobs."

Bivens said it was an "excellent decision" to place Kommor and Koval in their respective positions.

He said he sat with Bigland for years during the council's subcommittee meetings and got to see him work firsthand.

"He really comprehends the dealers' point of view, and then he isn't afraid to discuss it, or maybe even debate the points, or maybe even just call it like he sees it," Bivens said. "He really made a difference. He will be missed."

David Kelleher, owner of David Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram in Glen Mills, Pa., said Bigland told him last month during the NADA Show in Las Vegas that he was happy to have the lawsuit behind him. Kelleher said Bigland "knew how to push the buttons to sell cars" and was a friend of dealers, even if he wasn't a "cuddly kind of guy."

Doug Wilson, owner of Collierville Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Tennessee, considered Bigland to be a “salesman’s salesman.”

Kelleher is confident in what Kommor, who’s been with the company since 1985, can do as Bigland’s successor. Kommor is basically a clone of Bigland, Kelleher said, just “without the bodybuilding.”

Kelleher recalled how he would sometimes go back-and-forth with Bigland during council meetings on certain issues and get shot down. But Bigland would fight for dealers at times, even if they didn’t know it, Kelleher said, citing an example of a plan that Kelleher suggested and that Bigland eventually brought to fruition. Kelleher declined to identify what the plan was.

“He was doing what he was supposed to for the OEM. He was holding the face he was supposed to hold,” Kelleher said. “Yet he understood, and he was trying to do what was right, and he didn’t need credit for it. Even when we eventually got the plan that we needed ... he never took credit for it.”