AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -

On Wednesday, Chrysler Group announced that it has added two new members to its board of independent directors, effective immediately. The automaker also revealed the elected board chairman is Sergio Marchionne.

The new board additions are Léo Houle and John Lanaway.

The new directors replace C. Robert Kidder, George F.J. Gosbee and Scott Stuart, who have decided to resign from the board, according to the company.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome these respected and knowledgeable professionals to join our board of directors. Their leadership, insights and counsel will be invaluable in reinforcing our determination to achieve the financial targets outlined in our 2010-2014 Business Plan announced in November 2009,” said Marchionne, chief executive officer of Chrysler Group.

“I also want to extend my gratitude to George and Scott for their support in putting the company on a solid path, and in particular to Bob Kidder, who provided a solid point of reference in the last two years as chairman of our company. I thank them for their efforts and I wish them well,” Marchionne added.

He went to stress, “Repaying our governments’ loans six years early and refinancing our debt reinforces our conviction that we are on the right path to rebuilding this company and restoring it to its rightful place on the global automotive landscape within the framework of Chrysler’s global alliance with Fiat.”

Houle joins the compensation and leadership development committee and Lanaway now sits on the audit committee, management reported.

Ronald Thompson, who has served as a director since 2009, was elected as lead director.

Giving background on the new directors, Chrysler revealed Houle has a long history in human resources, including as chief talent officer of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, Canada’s largest communications company, from June 2001 until his retirement in July 2008. Prior to joining BCE and Bell Canada, he was senior vice president, corporate human resources of Algroup Ltd., a Swiss-based diversified industrial company. In addition to stints with other companies dating back further, from 1966 to 1987, Houle held various managerial positions with the Bank of Montreal, the last of which was senior manager, human resources administration centers.

In 2006, Houle was elected a director of CNH, a world leader in the agricultural and construction equipment businesses that is a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Industrial S.p.A.

Lanaway was executive vice president and chief financial officer, North America, of McCann Erickson, one of the largest marketing communications networks in the world, from November 2007 until June 2011. From January 2001 to November 2007, he held similar positions at Ogilvy North America. Previously, along with other roles, he held the positions of chief financial officer and senior vice president at Geac Computer Corp. Limited from 1999 to 2001; chief financial officer of Algorithmics Incorporated from 1997 to 1999; and senior vice president and chief financial officer at Spar Aerospace from 1995 to 1996.

In 2006, Lanaway was elected a director of CNH, a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Industrial S.p.A.