Ford in the driving seat at Ford
William Clay Ford Jr will replace Jacques Nasser as chief executive officer of the Ford Motor Company, it was reported.
The company is due to announce today that Nasser is leaving the company.
In addition, Nick Scheele, 57, currently group vice president for North America, is expected to be named Ford’s chief operating officer. Scheele recently moved to North America after a brief stint as head of Ford Europe.
The automaker was expected to announce additional management changes today.
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.
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.
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.
Ford worked for the car maker 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.
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 would return the CEO’s job to a Ford family member for the first time since Henry Ford II ran the company. Henry Ford II resigned as CEO in 1979.
Together, William Clay Ford senior and junior also run the Detroit Lions football team.
