Key players in the DCX merger

The Detroit News Lee Iacocca, left, announced in 1992 that Robert Eaton, right, would be his successor. The decision made Bob Lutz, center, bitter, but he quickly found ways to exert his influence anyway until frictions with Eaton erupted. Still, Lutz convinced Eaton to accept the DaimlerChrysler name.

Kirk Kerkorian

The secretive Las Vegas billionaire’s thwarted takeover bid sparked exploratory talks between Daimler and Chrysler. Upon news of the merger, his 13.7-percent stake rose in value about $660 million to $4.4 billion.

Tom Stallkamp

Just weeks after he was named Chrysler’s president, Stallkamp learned about Daimler’s approaches on a merger. Later assigned to handle integration of the companies, he often found himself out of the loop.

Hilmar Kopper

At times called the most powerful man in Germany, Kopper sat atop supervisory boards of Daimler and its largest shareholder, giant Deutsche Bank. Called the deal “an amazing fit.”

Eckhard Cordes

Soft-spoken and thoughtful, Cordes served as Daimler chief Juergen Schrempp’s mergers and acquisitions expert and his temperamental counterpoint. Though he rarely drank alcohol as Schrempp did, he was drawn to the fearlessness of his mercurial boss.

Dennis Pawley

Chrysler’s burly “blue collar executive” in charge of manufacturing, Pawley helped secure UAW backing of the merger before resisting Schrempp’s pleas for him to delay his retirement.

Charles V. Tines / The Detroit News When they were three: Ford’s Alex Trotman, left, Chrysler’s Robert Eaton, center, and GM’s Jack Smith attend Detroit’s auto show. Trotman mulled a Daimler merger even as Eaton and Schrempp brokered their deal.

The Detroit News Schrempp saw Daimler’s prospects narrowing in 1997 and ordered a team of advisers, including Mercedes-Benz chief Juergen Hubbert, at his right, to weigh merger partners. Chrysler clearly stood out as the best fit.