Ford to replace Nasser as CEO
By Ed Garsten
Associated Press
DETROIT — William Clay Ford Jr. will replace Jacques Nasser as chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co., The Associated Press has learned.
The company will announce today that Nasser is leaving the company, said a source familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
William Ford Jr., 44, started taking more operational control of the company in July, when the board created the Office of the Chairman and CEO. He and Nasser met regularly to review company operations.
Ford is the son of William Clay Ford Sr., who is a grandson of company founder Henry Ford and brother of former chairman and CEO, the late Henry Ford II.
The move will return the CEO's job to a Ford family member for the first time since Henry Ford II ran the company before resigning as CEO in 1979.
For some weeks, Ford has been looking outside for a successor to Nasser, who had been under pressure for months for Ford's loss of market share and tumbling profitability. The financially troubled company has been preparing a turnaround plan expected to be revealed in December.
A handful of top industry executives had been contacted about the job of CEO, the trade publication Automotive News reported yesterday.
Ford worked for the automaker for several years until he resigned in 1995 to assume the chairmanship of the board of directors' finance committee. He became board chairman in January 1999 when Alex Trotman retired as chairman and CEO, while Nasser was named president and CEO.
In addition to Nasser's departure, the company is expected to name Nick Scheele, 57, currently group vice president for North America, Ford's chief operating officer. Scheele recently moved to North America after a brief stint as head of Ford Europe.
Jim Padilla, 55, group vice president for manufacturing and quality, will reportedly take over Scheele's job as head of Ford North America. Carl Reichardt, the retired chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo & Co., is expected to be named vice chairman, and David L. Murphy, Ford's vice president of human resources, was expected to leave the company, the source said.
Ford reported its second straight quarterly loss Oct. 17, and its chief financial officer said he expected the world's No. 2 automaker to lose money in the fourth quarter as well.
Ford said it lost $692 million in the third quarter as its sales slumped 9 percent and it sold 15 percent fewer vehicles in North America.
The results were in line with Wall Street expectations, but the continued losses spawned published reports about Nasser's future.
Ford's loss amounted to 38 cents a share in the July-September period. Excluding $190 million for one-time items, including costs related to the restructuring of its Mazda and Land Rover units, Ford lost $502 million, or 28 cents a share.
A year earlier, Ford earned $888 million, or 53 cents a share, in the third quarter.
Ford saw its North American market share drop from 23.2 percent in the second quarter to 22.2 percent during the third quarter. Ford's third quarter market share a year ago was 22.8 percent. To adjust for the slowing sales, Ford says it will reduce vehicle production in the fourth quarter by 9 percent from the same period a year ago.
