First: Mr. Ford And Mr. Nasser Learn To Share The Lords of Ford

摘要

Ford, the second-largest company in the world, did an incredibly un-American thing in mid-September: It announced that when CEO Alex Trotman retires at the end of the year, hell be succeeded by two men, William Clay Ford Jr., great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, as chairman of the board, and Jacques Nasser. Ford automotive operations president, as president and CEO. In fact. FORTUNE predicted just such a move—to Ford's considerable embarrassment—back in October 1996. Although dual leadership is common in Europe and Asia, it has only recently begun to surface in these parts (e.g., Citicorp-Travelers and other "mergers of equals"). Autp industry observers agree that such a one-two could further fuel Ford's already impressive momentum. The company is on a nine-quarter improved-profits roll (with a tenth predicted to be announced on Oct. 14), has reduced total costs by more than $4 billion over the past two years, and has a garage full of best-selling trucks and innovative new cars.