Clay Ford takes over as CEO of Ford Motor

DEARBORN, Michigan (U.S.), OCT. 31. The Fords, one of the most prominent and enduring families in American business, reasserted control on Tuesday of the Ford Motor Co. for the first time in more than two decades. But Mr. William Clay Ford Jr., the family member who took over as the company's sole chief executive, ending an awkward power sharing arrangement with the ousted Mr. Jacques A. Nasser, assumes leadership of a company mired in deep trouble.

Mr. Ford said on Tuesday that the events of September 11 had worsened an already bleak outlook for the auto industry and accelerated the need for change at the top of Ford Motor, which has been struggling to devise a turnaround plan in a faltering economy.

``This is not a time for grand visions and for a lot of brainstorming tours of the world talking about how we're going to revolutionise the world," he said at Ford Motor's headquarters here. Family members, who regularly meet three times a year, gathered for a particularly gloomy discussion of the company's prospects three weeks ago.

The company had just cut its dividend, at great cost to the Fords, and the yearlong tug-of-war for power between Mr. Ford and Mr. Nasser was on everyone's mind, Mr. Ford said. Mr. Ford said Mr. Nasser's handling of the Firestone dispute did not play a role in his dismissal. But he indicated he might take a different approach.

- New York Times

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Section  : Business
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