Bill Ford Jr willing to make room for the 'right leader'

FRANKFURT: Ford Motor chief executive Bill Ford Jr is prepared to let someone else lead the car maker his great-grandfather founded, if the right manager is available, he said in a magazine interview.

“I’m always looking to bring talent into this company. If I can find somebody — I thought Carlos (Ghosn) was an exceptionally talented executive who could help the company — I’ll go get him. That is regardless of the position,” Mr Ford told a weekly magazine in an interview.

Asked if that applied to his own job as well, Mr Ford replied, “Absolutely.” He was referring to past efforts to lure Mr Ghosn, who is chief executive of alliance partners Renault and Nissan, to work for the number two US car maker, which is struggling to handle losses in North America.

Renault and Nissan are in talks with General Motors about joining forces in a three-way alliance. They have set a deadline of mid-October to decide whether to proceed.

Asked why he had approached Mr Ghosn for forming an alliance with Ford, he said, “I talk to Carlos all the time, but I’m not going to comment on that.”

Media reports have said Mr Ford called Mr Ghosn to discuss an alliance should the GM talks fail. Mr Ford said his top priority was guiding Ford back to profit in North America — where high fuel prices have crimped demand for Ford’s sport utility vehicles and light trucks — and not to recruit a new CEO.

“I’m not looking to replace myself. I’m looking to make sure the company is stocked with talent. But look, right now I’m focused on getting the North American operations back on track. That’s where my energy and time is going. That’s
my passion.”

He said he would always be part of the company given family ties. The Ford family has 40% of the voting rights.