Having taken over the reins of Ford Motor during one of the bleakest periods of its history, Bill Ford has taken some bold initiatives to turnaround the company. Will his moves pay-off ?

On October 30, 2001, when William Clay Ford Jr. (Bill Ford) took over the reins of Ford Motor Company (Ford), from Jacques Nasser, the company was engulfed in problems on all fronts. The company that posted a net income of $7.2 bn in 1999 incurred a loss of $5.5 bn (including a one-time write-off of $4.1 bn in restructuring costs), in 2001. This apart, Ford was suffering from serious quality problems with many of its vehicles being recalled in large numbers. The Firestone fiasco further damaged the image and cost it $3.5 bn. Its share price continued its freefall and was hovering around $10 as of January 22, 2003. Bill Ford, faced with the onerous task of putting the company back on track, had initiated some concrete measures amid skepticism about his abilities to turnaround the company.

Being stuck for decades as a No. 2 in the US auto industry, Ford seemed to overtake its long-time rival, GM, when Jacques Nasser (Nasser) was named Ford CEO in 1999. Nasser was a seasoned Ford executive who climbed his way to the top through various positions from 1973 when he joined Ford's North American Truck Operations to become CEO of the company in 1999. He held various positions at Ford's International Automotive Operations (IAO) including managing Asia-Pacific and Latin American operations. In 1993, he was made Chairman of the Ford Board of Europe and then the Group Vice-President for product development in 1994. In 1996, Nasser was made the head of Ford Automotive Operations. During his tenure, Nasser wanted to turn the company into an automotive consumer powerhouse providing everything from credit to automotive repair and used parts. To achieve this objective, he started taking steps to transform the company to meet the requirements of the new economy. His actions met with a lot of resistance from employees, suppliers and dealers alike but Nasser pursued with his agenda.

Case Study, Ford Motor, bleakest periods, bold initiatives, net income, restructuring costs, Firestone fiasco, skepticism,US auto industry, concrete measures, North American Truck Operations, International Automotive Operations, Latin American operations, product development, automotive consumer powerhouse, suppliers ,dealers.