Mark Fields (businessman)

For other uses, see Mark Fields (disambiguation).

Mark Fields is Executive Vice President, Ford Motor Company; President, The Americas and an executive of the Ford Motor Company. As head of the Americas division, Fields was tapped to develop Ford's "The Way Forward" plan, an effort to repair the ailing automaker. He reports to Alan Mulally, the company's CEO.

Fields was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in Paramus, New Jersey,where he attended Paramus High School, and holds an economics degree from Rutgers University.^[1] He worked for IBM prior to attaining an MBA at Harvard Graduate School of Business. He was recruited by Ford in 1989 and moved up the ranks, becoming the youngest person (at 38) ever to run a major Japanese company when Ford placed him in charge of Mazda Motor Corporation in 1998. In 2002, Fields became chairman of the Premier Automotive Group, Ford's luxury unit which at the time included Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo Cars. He returned to the United States to head the Americas division of the company in October 2005.

In a December 14, 2006, announcement made by Alan Mulally (Chief Executive of Ford Motor Company), Mark Fields, at 45, was named business unit chief of Ford Motor Company's Americas operations. This is an attempt to make the company leaner and more centrally driven in areas such as product development, purchasing and engineering. The announcement was published by Reuters on the same date.

Jet controversy

In November 2006, a series of reports by WXYZ-TV revealed that Fields was using company jets as part of his employment contract to commute to his home in Florida at a cost of $50,000 a week, while at the same time eliminating tens of thousands of jobs at the troubled automaker. The reports caused a firestorm of controversy among Ford employees and dealers, and received significant media attention. In January 2007, Fields announced he would instead fly home on a commercial carrier.

Notes

1. ^ Webster, Sarah A. "SAVING FORD HIS JOB 1 - WAY FORWARD: MORE PROBLEMS THAN EXPECTED SETBACKS: PICKUPS AND OTHER U.S. SALES OFF WORKING TO BE PROFITABLE BY 2009", Detroit Free Press, February 25, 2007. Accessed January 30, 2011. "That mix of Paramus High, Rutgers University, Zeta Psi and IBM worked like magic for the Fields boys."

References

• "Go-to guy holds key to revival at Ford". Detroit News. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051225/AUTO01/512250365/1148/AUTO01. Retrieved December 25, 2005. 
• "High-Flying Perks". WXYZ-TV. http://www1.wxyz.com/wxyz/ys_investigations/article/0,2132,WXYZ_15949_5143902,00.html. Retrieved November 14, 2006. 

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