Henry Ford II - HFII - Hank The Duece - the man who created a modern, competitive Ford Motor Company.
Henry Ford II, grandson of Henry Ford who founded Ford Motor Company in 1903, can easily be credited with not only saving the company, but turning his grandfather's struggling empire into the Ford we know today. HFII passed in 1987, but his legacy and great accomplishments remain.
Born to Edsel and Eleanor Clay Ford on September 4, 1917, HFII had two siblings - William and Benson - who would also join the company their grandfather founded. Of the three, HFII seemed most suited to run the company and so it went.
After attending a prep school in Connecticut in 1936, HFII attended Yale University majoring in sociology, which would contribute to the way he ran Ford Motor Company and conducted his life years later. Ford never did graduate from Yale. Instead, he returned to Detroit to marry Anne McDonnell and join the family's company in 1940.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, HFII entered the United States Navy as an officer. When HFII's father, Edsel, died in 1943 after a struggle with cancer, President Franklin Roosevelt released Ford from the Navy, allowing him to return home to help run the family's struggling company. Because the War Department depended on Ford Motor Company's ability to produce machines for the war effort, there was no choice. The company was losing millions under its founder's leadership and was facing bankruptcy.
At the age of 25, HFII found himself poised to run his grandfather's company. He was shown the ropes of running a large corporation. In 1945 after sufficient preparation, HFII was named President of Ford Motor Company. At the time, Ford was saddled with stale pre-war product in North America no one wanted. It also had a large problem in Europe, with factories that had been destroyed by war. HFII understood the company's challenges were larger than he was. His first order of business was to amass a team of seasoned professionals who knew what the company needed to survive and compete.
HFII enlisted the best help he could find, hiring executives away from General Motors and other corporations who knew how to affect positive change. He also called on ten extraordinary men who would become quickly known as the "Whiz Kids". Former Ford president, Lee Iacocca, referred to these guys as "young turks". Among them, Robert McNamara, who would later become known for his compact utilitarian Ford Falcon to come in 1960. McNamara would later join the Kennedy Administration as Secretary of Defense.
It was Henry's Whiz Kids and selected stylists who would come up with the all-new post-war 1949 Ford, which was a smashing success that saved the company. Buyers were so eager to have the new Ford that 100,000 orders were received the first day thus ushering in a new era of exciting post-war Fords. It only got better in the years to follow including overhead valve technology in a new generation of sixes and V-8s. In 1957, Ford would introduce an all-new redesign from the chassis up - the first Ford to have ball joints instead of king pins. In fact, the '57 Ford would outsell Chevy by a wide margin though GM's most popular finned car is more popular today.
As a result of HFII's outstanding leadership, he was named Ford chairman in 1960. In the years ahead, HFII would find his job more challenging and certainly exhausting because so much happened all at once. He was confronted with change - a more competitive marketplace and a fresh element that exuded opportunity - baby boomers coming of age. A young Ford marketing executive, Lee Iacocca, who had high aspirations, couldn't wait to have more control about decisions that would ultimately affect Ford's success in the 1960s. When Robert McNamara left Ford to join the Kennedy Administration, HFII named Lee Iacocca Ford Division General Manager and Vice President.
Iacocca grabbed fate by the horns and turned Ford's stodgy reputation around with the Total Performance program. Although HFII was resistant to this idea in the wake of a legendary marketing disaster called Edsel, he allowed Iacocca the freedom to go after new markets including Mustang.
Ford Motor Company would experience an emotional roller coaster ride under HFII's direction - highs and lows that made it challenging to keep the company on course - yet kept the company growing. On the up side, HFII's ego paid off when it was time to go after Ferrari at LeMans. When Enzo Ferrari decided not to sell his company to Ford in the 1960s, HFII became very determined to beat Ferrari at his own game. Ford enlisted help from racing greats like Carroll Shelby and a host of others just as determined as HFII was to win in the world's greatest endurance race.
Ford went to LeMans and beat Ferrari three years running - something no other US automaker has ever accomplished. After Ford's great accomplishments at LeMans in 1968, HFII concluded enough was enough. He had beaten Ferrari. What's more, Ford had also beaten GM, Chrysler, and American Motors in domestic road racing competition with hot Mustangs, spanking Corvette in the process. Ford had gone from being a stodgy grandpa car company to world class in less than a decade.
It was amid this busy, hectic period HFII would meet and marry Cristina. Later, he would marry Kathleen DuRoss. Ultimately, HFII would have three children - Edsel Ford II, Charlotte, and Anne. Edsel would bear Henry Ford III.
The years following 1970 would be difficult for HFII. Performance cars expired as quickly as they had arrived. All eyes were on safety and fuel efficiency. Baby boomers turned their attentions away from hot cars to safer, more fuel efficient automobiles for growing families. Falcon was replaced by Maverick - which was priced to sell at $1995 base sticker. Maverick, introduced on the Mustang's fifth anniversary - April 17, 1969 - outsold Mustang and Falcon.
Because Ford needed to be competitive against Japanese and European subcompact cars in a growing global marketplace, Pinto was born, panning out to be one of Ford's most successful automobiles ever - and certainly more reliable than Chevy Vega. The European Ford Capri would be marketed in North America as the Mercury Capri as an upscale Mercury counterpart to Ford Division's Pinto.
It can be safely said the 1970s weren't easy for Detroit. They were never easy for HFII, who was having a tough time adjusting to a rapidly changing world. Ford quality deteriorated, earning it a reputation for disappointing products. Labor issues ensued not to mention management conflict involving the likes of Lee Iacocca, who was named Ford president in 1970 after a brief period of turbulence under short-lived GM boss Bunkie Knudsen.
The decision to hire Knudsen as Ford president was HFII's 1968. Knudsen was never a good fit for Ford's rank and file despite great products like Mustang Boss 302, 351, and 429. HFII made the decision to fire Knudsen and make Iacocca president in 1970. HFII would have a tough time sharing control of the company with marketing powerhouse Lee Iacocca.
In October of 1978, HFII would make headlines when he fired Lee Iacocca and made Phillip Caldwell president. Ford's decision to fire Iacocca was personal - he just didn't like him. By 1980, HFII had had enough of the pressures and stresses of running the company his grandfather founded. He was also 65 - mandatory retirement age at Ford. He made the decision to retire, leaving day to day operations to people who would affect exciting changes to product and quality in the 1980s.
It can be considered fate that led Ford to hand HFII such a huge responsibility in 1945. HFII had his share of great successes. He also had his controversy. He can easily be considered one of the most controversial CEOs in American history. Despite the highs and lows, Henry Ford II has earned the distinction of being the man who saved Ford from ruin and contributed to the great successes we enjoy today.