Information about Mark Fields (businessman)

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, grew up in Paramus, New Jersey, and holds an economics degree from Rutgers University. 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 includes 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, 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 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.

References

• Go-to guy holds key to revival at Ford. Detroit News. Retrieved on December 25, 2005.
• High-Flying Perks. WXYZ-TV. Retrieved on November 14, 2006.