Jacques Nasser
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Jacques Nasser (born December 27, 1947 in Amyoun, Lebanon) nicknamed "The Axe", is a business executive, most known for being the former CEO of Ford Motor Company, serving from 1999 until 2001. He is of Lebanese ancestry, but was raised in Australia and studied at RMIT University, Melbourne.
Nasser joined Ford of Australia at age 20, and moved up rapidly in the management ranks. By 2000 he had become CEO of Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan, earning an annual salary of US$12 million. Jacques was known for his sharp cost-cutting efforts with Ford's components supplier base, in an attempt to maximize profits and the stock shareholder's dividends. Using the business models of non-automotive companies like Dell Computer and some of the "Dot-com" firms as benchmarks, Jacques sought to increase the company stock "price to earnings ratio" (P/E ratio) from the low single-digit levels of most automotive factory-industrial corporations, to the astronomical levels achieved by the benchmark firms, before the "Dot-com bust".
In an effort to expand the company's portfolio of products, global market share, and revenues, Nasser set out to consolidate the automotive industry, with the multi-billion US$ purchase of Volvo Cars from the Volvo group of Sweden, Range Rover from BMW and consolidated Mazda under the Ford portfolio. It was also reported that Nasser made overtures to Honda and BMW to propose an acquisition and/or merger of each respective company. Under the banner of making Ford Motor Company "the world's number one provider of automotive products and services", Nasser also purchased several non-core businesses, such as automotive salvage yard chains, repair service shops, and recycling facilities.
Throughout Nasser's tenure, there were serious concerns about his abrupt, sometimes abrasive management style and treatment of subordinates. It has also been said that Nasser's tough business practices and hardnose manners unsettled and alienated Ford's supplier network, dealerships, and employees.
Nasser's firm, almost stubborn public demeanor while testifying before Congress in the Firestone / Ford Explorer tire investigation proved to be a public relations problem for the company. At the same time, his automotive business purchases drained billions of US$ off of Ford's cash reserves, and then the US economy began to slump. These events led to a US$5.5 billion loss for the company in 2001, and a subsequent 75% drop in Ford stock values and market capitalization. Nasser was eventually replaced by William Clay Ford, Jr., who was serving as the Chairman of the Board at the time.
After leaving Ford, Nasser became a senior partner in One Equity Partners, a subsidiary of Bank One. After the bankruptcy of Polaroid Corporation and its eventual acquisition by One Equity, Mr. Nasser served as Polaroid's non-executive chairman and oversaw its restructuring from 2002 to 2005.
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