Tim Kuniskis, Father Of The Dodge Hellcat, Steps Down As CEO Of Dodge And Ram

Key Takeaways

Tim Kuniskis is retiring as CEO of Ram and Dodge after 32 years with the company.
Christine Feuell will be the new Ram CEO while Matt McAlear takes the helm at Dodge, effective June 1st.
Kuniskis spent time with multiple brands in the Stellantis portfolio during his tenure.

Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Ram and Dodge brands, has announced his retirement after 32 years of working for Stellantis. Starting as a trainee, Kuniskis worked his way through the ranks during a time that saw his parent company merge three times. He held leadership positions at Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo before landing at Dodge and Ram. He will be succeeded by Christine Feuell as Ram CEO and Matt McAlear as Dodge CEO, effective June 1st.

“I want to take the opportunity to warmly thank Tim for his passion, commitment and contributions to Stellantis and in defining the vision of the future electrified Ram and Dodge brands. I wish him well in his retirement,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.

“I am confident that Chris will continue the work of Tim in leading the iconic Ram brand. Matt will bring a fresh perspective, while continuing to draw on the heritage of our iconic Dodge brand and leading the transition of the brand toward a sustainable future.”

– Carlos Tavares, CEO Stellantis

Dodge

Hall Of Fame Automotive Career

Kuniskis started his career in 1992 as a trainee in Syracuse, New York. It wasn’t until 2009 that he earned his first director position as Chrysler Brand Market Director. In 2011, he became head of the Fiat brand in North America after Fiat sought out an ownership stake in Chrysler Group that would be completed in 2014.

His most successful period started in 2013 as he became head of the Dodge and SRT brands and, more recently, as the head of Ram. Kuniskis took the aging Challenger and Charger platforms and turned them into performance powerhouses with the debut of the Hellcat lineup. He built on that success with the introduction of the Redeye, Demon, Super Stock, and utterly insane Demon 170 models.

2022 Roadkill Nights Announcement Kuniskis — Dodge

A True Enthusiast

The 2010s were something of a golden age for enthusiasts, in large part due to the SRT, Scatpack, and Hellcat models introduced by Dodge under the leadership of Kuniskis. “You figure out what your consumer thinks, likes, and is interested in and wants, and you help build a community around that so that they’re not a purchaser of a product, but they’re part of something bigger than that purchase,” Kuniskis told Automotive News at a media preview for Roadkill Nights in 2022, “If you can help support that community, it will come back to you and they will support you. Everything that we do is designed around that.”

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That community sustained those platforms for a decade and a half, with interest only growing as the years passed, but electrification was on the horizon. The lineup now sees new models including the Dodge Charger Daytona, Ram 1500 REV, and Ram 1500 Ramcharger moving the brand toward that electrified future. They’re not fully electric yet, however, in recognition of the love performance enthusiasts still have for the combustion engine. Still an enthusiast at heart, Kuniskis has set up the future of the brand while never losing sight of the community that drives its success.