Philip Caldwell was the first Ford Chief Executive Officer who wasn't a member of the Ford family.
Philip Caldwell is a name you don't hear much about these days because he has been retired from Ford for 25 years. However, he made Ford history when he became President, then CEO of Ford Motor Company in 1979 following Henry Ford's firing of Lee Iacocca in 1978.
Caldwell joined Ford in 1953 when he took charge of Ford's truck operations. Later on, he headed Ford's Philco Division before taking on Ford Europe. He has a lot of successful nameplates and ideas to his credit including the original Ford Fiesta first introduced in Europe before later coming to the U.S. When he assumed his duties as Ford Chairman in 1979-80, Caldwell took on one of Ford's greatest turnarounds in the company's history.
If you were around in the 1980s, you understand Caldwell's success and the slogan "Have You Driven A Ford Lately?" Product quality went skyward as did excitement levels and sales numbers. Ford Taurus was developed and launched during Caldwell's leadership at Ford as were marques like Thunderbird and Mustang. Taurus needs no introduction with genuine Ford enthusiasts. We know what this nameplate has meant for Ford.
When Caldwell retired from Ford in 1985, he didn't prop up his feet and sit in a rocking chair. He became Senior Management Director at Shearson Lehman Brothers hundreds of miles from Detroit in a place called New York.
Caldwell's momentum wasn't lost when he left Ford. Donald Petersen took over as CEO in Caldwell's wake, thrusting Ford into the super hot 1990s.
We salute Philip Caldwell here at Mustang Monthly, and want to thank him for his positive contributions to Ford's great success.