Fordâs Mark Fields: âIâm humanâ
By Michelle Krebs February 26, 2007Ford’s President of the Americas Mark Fields reached out to the Detroit Free Press, which ran a
Page 1 profile of him in Sundayâs edition, in an apparent attempt to soften his image, get the troops on his side and show heâs got what it takes to turn around the automaker.
Fields, author of the automaker’s Way Forward recovery plan, has been under intense fire, most recently for missing various targets for sales. That has led to increasingly harsh criticism and speculation that he might be fired.
“I’m human,†he told the paper. “I would have liked to have gone faster.â€
The 46-year-old Fields took the top North American job at Ford 16 months ago after rising through the overseas ranks at Mazda in Japan and the Premier Automotive Group (Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo) in Europe.
As the Free Press noted, Fields has been mocked âfor everything from his choice of words in speeches ('change or die, baby'); to his hair, which some call an out-of-style mullet; to his personal style, which some label self-centered and arrogant; to his $3.2-million compensation package, which included the use of a Ford jet to fly home to Florida on weekends -- a perk he gave up last month.â
In the interview, he said his family would eventually move from Florida to Michigan but now was not the time as his wife was caring for her aged parents.
Fieldsâ comments and humble demeanor in the profile were reminiscent of an interview with Fordâs Chief Designer J Mays at last yearâs Geneva Motor Show. Mays came into Ford nearly eight years ago with guns blazing, arrogantly critical of the competitorsâ designs. Yet, his inability to make rapid, massive design changes has led to harsh criticism and even calls by many for his ousting. In an interview at the Geneva show last year, Mays was much humbler. He confessed he underestimated the size of the job to revamp Fordâs model line and turn around its reputation as a design laggard.
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