William Clay Ford, Jr.
Encyclopedia : W : WI : WIL : William Clay Ford, Jr.
The name Bill Ford might also refer to the former baseball player. See Bill Ford (baseball).
William Clay (Bill) Ford Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is the Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Company.
Background
He was born in Detroit, Michigan, the great-grandson of both Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. His father is William Clay Ford, Sr., and his mother is Martha Parke Firestone. He graduated from Princeton University in 1979, having majored in history and served as president of The Ivy Club. In 1984 he received a Master's degree in Management (M.B.A.) from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is married to Lisa, and has four children.Early career
He joined Ford in 1979 and held a variety of positions -- notably beginning in the finance staff, a grooming ground for future executives, and several years as a mid-ranking executive in product development. He also briefly headed the Climate Control Division (since divested from the company as part of the Visteon spinoff). At the time of the Ford 2000 reorganization, he was in charge of heavy truck operations.Corporate governance
Ford gave up his executive position in heavy truck product management to become chairman of the finance committee, a non-executive corporate governance position, for several years before becoming Chairman. He also served as chairman of the board without the CEO title for some time before then-CEO Jacques Nasser was ousted. The ouster reflected significant differences in corporate values -- Nasser was known to be mostly about money and power, while Ford is noted for valuing people and tradition.Notable acts and events
Bill Ford generated a name for himself when he was serving only as Chairman and not CEO. On February 1, 1999 when the Ford Rouge Powerhouse had an explosion that killed several Ford employees, Bill Ford rejected the ideas of his advisors and rushed to the scene from the nearby Ford world headquarters building. One of his staff cautioned, "Generals don't go out to the front lines." Ford's retort: "Then bust me down to private." Ford stopped and gave a heart-breaking account of the explosion to roadside television crews.[link]In June 2005, he joined the eBay board.
According to news reports, Ford "is a tae kwon do blackbelt, a student of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism and a folk guitar player." [link].
Ford is also the vice-chairman of the Detroit Lions football team.
Green credentials questioned
Ford is known to be a conscientious environmentalist, having driven an electric Ford Ranger EV, and currently a Hybrid Electric Escape. Ford committed (in 2000) to a 25% reduction fuel consumption in the company's light truck fleet, including SUVs, by mid-decade. However, some environmentalists have questioned Ford's commitment, as the company in 2003 announced that competitive market conditions and technological and cost challenges would prevent it from achieving this goal. Ford also terminated its existing electric vehicle program as impractical and unaffordable from a business standpoint. Some point to Ford's continued marketing of the fuel-thirsty and CAFE-exempt Ford Excursion, which is scheduled for replacement with an extended wheelbase Ford Expedition, as evidence of an other than green corporate agenda. Ford's position is that for the Company to remain competitive (and in business), it must supply what customers demand.
Nevertheless, under Bill Ford's direction, Ford Motor Company made technological progress toward improving fuel efficiency, with the introduction of the Hybrid Electric Escape, the most fuel efficient SUV on the market, achieving 36 mpg (EPA) in city driving. [link]. The Escape's platform mates Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute are also scheduled to receive hybrid-electric powertrain options, along with other upcoming vehicles in the Ford product line including the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. Ford now estimates that half of the vehicle lineup will be available with advanced hybrid-electric powerplant options by 2010, with hybrid production reaching 250,000 vehicles annually. Ford also continues to study Fuel Cell-powered electric powertrains, and is currently demonstrating hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine technologies, as well as developing the next-generation hybrid-electric systems. In addition, to the Ford Escape, Hybrid Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute, Ford is currently marketing high efficiency crossover SUVs such as the Ford Freestyle, and the Volvo XC70 and Volvo XC90. Ford is also developing sporty new crossover SUVs, such as the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, and Mazda CX-7.
Ford is also expanding the current lineup of flexible-fuel vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles, and duel-fuel vehicles. Flexible fuel vehicles can operate on a range of fuel mixtures - such as ethanol-gasoline blends ranging from pure gasoline to E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). Alternative fuel vehicles operate on non-petroleum fuels, such as methanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), propane, and hydrogen. Duel fuel vehicles generally have two fuel tanks - one for compressed natural gas or propane, and another for regular gasoline - with a selector switch to choose between them. Vehicles using these fueling alternatives are currently in test fleets, for example as taxis and shuttle buses, and some are or will soon be available for sale to the public. Ford is committed to sell 250,000 alternative and flexible fuel vehicles - the majority of which will be designed to operate on ethanol-gasoline blends - in 2006. [link]
Strong competition, soaring health care and raw material costs, and a slide in U.S. market share led Ford to announce a second restructuring for its North American operations in four years.
Saddled with a junk debt rating and facing a sharp drop in U.S. market share, Ford's restructuring plan, dubbed "Way Forward," is designed to reverse a $1.6 billion loss last year in its North American operations. Globally, however, the company made $2 billion in 2005. [link]
References
- Automobile Magazine interview of William Clay Ford, Jr
External links
- [Ford media info web site]
- [Ford Motor Company Biography]
- [William Ford Jr.'s campaign contributions]
- [Bill Ford's The Way Forward speech - 23 Jan 2006]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.