Bill Ford Named Auto News Industry Leader of the Year
Photo: Ford
Automotive News has named Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford its 2020 Industry Leader of the Year. Ford, hailed as a “unifying force in the fight of a lifetime,” earns the coveted title for his handling of the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19.
Keep on Runnin’: Essential services for your Ford F-150
Bill Ford unites big names in wake of COVID-19
Auto News credits Bill Ford with kicking off talks between himself, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chairman John Elkann, and United Auto Workers President Rory Gamble in the early days of the pandemic. He told Auto News that the ability to take initiative in a difficult moment comes from living through six major crises that threatened the industry.
“When you’re trying to pull three companies together, you have to be careful what you even talk about because you can step on land mines without realizing it,” Ford said. “But I’ve been through that so many times I felt I was pretty well prepared to help lead those discussions. GM and FCA weren’t exactly on the same page on a lot of items. And so, I felt I was kind of Switzerland and could help pull it together.”
And thus, Ford earns credit for bringing the three Detroit titans and the UAW together to hammer out a strong response to the pandemic. But navigating these murky waters is only part of how Bill Ford earned 2020 Industry Leader of the Year.
Auto News also credits the exec for launching key products including the Bronco Sport and F-150; overseeing Project Apollo; and publicly breaking with the outgoing, recently defeated president over his administration’s impractical emissions standards. Ford also navigated a change at the top with Jim Farley replacing Jim Hackett as CEO in October.
The cherry on top? Bill Ford signed off on naming the Mustang Mach-E, giving it his full blessing after taking a prototype for a spin.
“I got a lot of thumbs-up, including from two Mustang GTs,” he said. “I thought, ‘okay, that’s good.’”
And now, in addition to those thumbs up, Bill Ford gets a nice big thumbs up from Automotive News.
Coming Soon from Ford: 2021 Ford Bronco takes off-road capability to a whole new level
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.