Fiat Chrysler boosts three rising top executives

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced an executive shakeup Monday that gives more duties to three of its rising stars.

Taken together, the moves make it clear that the three executives, who all were already viewed as some of the automaker's top leaders, are continuing to rise up the ranks within the automaker.

With CEO Sergio Marchionne having already indicated he will leave the automaker, they could be the leading CEO candidates.

The Group Economic Council, or GEC, is a 19-member group of executives that meets on a monthly basis and makes final decisions on many of the automaker's most important issues.

The automaker announced that:

•Mike Manley will now oversee the automaker's Ram brand and will continue to oversee Jeep and will continue to serve as chief operating officer of the Asia Pacific region.

•Tim Kuniskis, who had been CEO of the Dodge brand, will now also oversee the company's Chrysler and Fiat brands. That effectively puts Kuniskis in charge of all of the automaker's brands that are dominated by cars rather than trucks or SUVs.

•Reid Bigland, who was CEO of the Ram brand, gains responsibility for fleet operations in North America. Bigland also remains in charge of sales in the U.S., the Alfa Romeo brand in North America and CEO of FCA Canada.