Article and photo by Lesley Wimbush

Reid Bigland is a busy man. A long-time executive with Chrysler, now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Bigland now holds three senior management positions within the company.

In addition to being to being the President and CEO of FCA Canada, a position he has held since 2006, Bigland is also the Senior Vice President of U.S. Sales, FCA North America, and was recently chosen to head up the rebirth of the Alfa Romeo Brand here in North America.

We caught up with him at the recent Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto and peppered him with some questions, both professional and personal.

Lesley Wimbush (LW): Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for us. Okay – a little bit of background. You’re Canadian?

Reid Bigland (RB): Yes I am. In fact I’m a dual citizen, but I was born in Canada. I still cheer for Team Canada. I was born in Kamloops B.C., but I grew up in Toronto, near Thornhill.

LW: And what about school? What area of studies led you to where you are today?

RB: Not a lot in school. I got a degree in Economics from the University of B.C., while I was going to university, I worked for Canadian Airlines. I worked full-time and went to university full-time. I’ve always had the attitude – and still do – that you just do the best that you can in whatever job that you’re in and the opportunities have a tendency to take care of themselves.

If you would have asked me 20 or 30 years ago as I was slinging bags, trying to work my way through university, that I would end up working for Chrysler Canada, and between Canada and the U.S. – I’d say you’re probably crazy.

Spent ten years in the airline industry, worked my way up there and into the heavy duty trucking industry with Western Star Trucks – which was acquired by Freightliner, which is Daimler Trucks North America.

A lot of different roles within the heavy duty truck organization and moved all over; Vancouver, Kelowna, Portland, Cleveland, Charlotte, and up to Detroit. And here I am.

LW: Here you are, indeed.

RB: Been in the Canada role for almost ten years, since 2006, then a little bit of an expansion of my responsibilities about four years ago into the U.S. sales role.

LW: You do wear a number of hats.

RB: Yeah, that’s Sergio’s thing – he wears a number of hats and there’s a few of us within the organization that wear a few hats.

LW: And you’ve recently been put in charge of Alfa Romeo.

RB: Yeah, I have a tough time holding down a brand job.

I was in the Dodge Brand, the Ram Brand, and now Alfa – which is an incredibly exciting time.

LW: A rebirth.

RB: Yes, bringing that legendary brand back to the North American marketplace. We’re pledging six billion dollars to have eight all-new products in the North American marketplace by 2018. The 4C is the first new example of the new Alfas, and fortunately it’s off to an incredible start. It’s red-hot and the only limitation in sales is how many we can build.

LW: Chrysler has forged relationships with “varying” degrees of success. Can you tell us what’s different this time?

RB: Well, I think with the Fiat-Chrysler organization, the cultures immediately meshed – and Sergio deserves a disproportionate amount of that credit – where we’ve really become one company.

Whereas with the private equity, you know we never really clicked, and it was very difficult economic circumstances at that time. And I think always with Daimler, even though we were with Daimler for ten years – there was always a kind of separation.

With Fiat Chrysler, the cultures have meshed, the organizations have been fully combined, and the sharing of platforms, of people, and technologies has been much more seamless.

Definitely the best fit, and you obviously see it in our sales performance – and our financial performance. It’s truly a good partnership, and creates truly a global automotive company that behaves like a global automotive company.

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LW: The Cinquecento has been successful here. Are you planning more small cars for our market?

RB: The most exciting two new cars we have coming, one we talked about last month at the Montreal auto show is the Fiat 500X, a very promising four-door Fiat. And then a derivative off that – but completely modified to be Jeep – is the Jeep Renegade. It’s the most capable small SUV in the world.

I’ll pull the tarp off a few vehicles here at our press conference, and the Jeep Renegade will be officially shown for the first time in Canada. Definitely, that has significant Fiat underpinnings – built in Italy, and our timing couldn’t be better with a weak Euro relative to the U.S. dollar. Importing a vehicle at $1.13 Euro into the United States – all the stars seem to be aligned with that vehicle.

LW: And on a more personal note – you have a reputation for being a very fit guy. Just wondering what your fitness regime is, and if it helps you stay focused in such a challenging job.

RB: (Laughs) Well, maybe not as fit as what the perception is. I’ve got a chest like a pirate – sunken treasure.

LW: You’ve got some padding in that suit then?

RB: Yeah, two cell phones on either side. I think it’s important to stay fit. There’s always a lot of stress in the day-to-day. It’s always something that I’ve done and I’ve embedded it into my routine. I try to get a workout in the morning: a little bit of weights, a little bit of cardio. I can’t do what I used to do, just try to keep fit and try to keep life in a little bit of balance when it comes to exercise and work.

LW: Do you give it a lot of credit for helping you stay where you are?

RB: Yeah – I think it’s a significant stress reliever in a world that can get pretty crazy. Just knocking that off in the morning is important. I think that to a large extent, mind drives body, and body drives mind. It’s important to keep fit just to endure the ups and downs in what is always a difficult business environment.

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