President, Chrysler Corp.
1935-1950
A machinist by trade, Keller was a micromanager at heart. Chrysler's organization chart was said to resemble a wheel with Keller at the hub but no rim that allowed the spokes to communicate. Design took the biggest hit. Because he insisted on high-roofed cars that allowed people to wear their hats inside, Keller consigned the automaker to several decades of unfashionable, though functional, autos. As late as 1949, he ordered that one-and-a-half inches be added to the height of all Chrysler vehicles.
Top executives from the world's biggest automakers have a lot to prove in this year.
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