"Ethics, Integrity & Character...The Best in Leaders and Leadership: A Ford Motor Company Case Study"

Anne Stevens
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, The Americas
Ford Motor Company

Anne Stevens presented Ford Motor Company as a case study for the "Best in Leaders and Leadership." She depicted Ford as a company facing serious challenges and having to make difficult decisions that have company- and industry-wide repercussions. Ford's decreasing share in a shifting market made uncertain by rising oil and gas prices has forced the company to re-evaluate its current level of production capacity. "Shuttering facilities is not something we'd been able to face before," Stevens said. She described North America as the heart of Ford Motor Company's business, and referred to members of the company as the "Ford family." Stevens said that Ford has always strived to be an "honorable and compassionate" company despite the challenges to their values and their business model.

Still utilizing a top-down hierarchy and a production model that had been in place since the first assembly-line vehicles were produced by Ford in the early part of the 20th century, executive management realized that the company needed fundamental change. Stripping down to a barebones work environment, Ford executives began holding round-table meetings to discuss the diverse needs of its divisions and the new direction in which they wanted to take the company. This became Ford's "Way Forward" plan.

"Way Forward" is described as a completely consumer-focused overhaul of Ford's operations. By strengthening its product lineup, investing in new vehicles in new segments to reach more consumers, increasing productivity and efficiency, and cutting back on costs, Ford hopes to stabilize its market share, achieve profitability in North America by 2008, and embrace a renewed commitment to innovation. At the same time, increased productivity and decreased spending equates to job losses in the 10's of thousands.

For Stevens, "Way Forward" validated many leadership qualities, together what she calls "transformational leadership." It encouraged creative business solutions that resulted in greater efficiency and productivity. Management is called on to avoid detachment from lower-run line workers who before would not have had much attention from the top. Developing "Way Forward" also brought to the surface leaders who are decisive and durable. She sees herself as a life-long learner, and feels that it is an indispensable quality in a leader. "Being a leader is not a popularity contest," she said. "Leaders are learners, teachers, and coaches. They're people with a positive vision for the future that gives their people hope."

"At some point in our careers, we all face tragic circumstances," she continued, shifting the topic to the explosion at Ford's Rouge Steel complex in Dearborn, MI, which Bill Ford once described as the worst day of his life. Bill Ford had been at the reigns of the company for little more than a month when the incident killed 6 members of the "Ford family." "Employees are human beings and people first," Stevens said. "I could never work for a company that required me to make decisions that did not take into account the impact of those decisions on its people."

Stevens answered several questions from the audience, shifting the topic from women in the workplace to Ford's ownership of several automotive nameplates, including Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda (over 30%), Aston Martin, Volvo, Lincoln and Mercury.

Despite the concessions that Ford and Stevens herself have recently been forced to make, she has not given up her fighting spirit. "It's all about winning," she said, "because nobody likes to be in second place."

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Anne Stevens has overall responsibility for leading Ford Motor Company's core operations in The Americas, including Product Development, Manufacturing, and Purchasing. In this role, Stevens becomes the first female Executive Vice President in company history. Prior to her current assignment, Stevens had served since October 2003 as group Vice President Canada, Mexico, and South America.

Stevens joined Ford Motor Company in 1990 as a marketing specialist. Since that time she has held several positions as manager and director, including earning the plant manager position at Ford's Enfield Plant in England in 1995. With this assignment, she became the company's first female plant manager in Europe. In 1997, she was named assistant vehicle line director, Small Car Vehicle Center, for Ford Automotive Operations in Dunton, England.

Stevens returned to the United States in 1999 to assume the post of director of the Manufacturing Business Office for Ford in North America. In August, 2001, she was named Vice President, North America Vehicle Operations. Before joining Ford, Stevens held various engineering, manufacturing, and marketing positions at Exxon Mobil Corporation. She serves on the Lockheed Martin Board of Directors, the Council of the Americas Board and the Board of Trustees at Drexel University, and is a trustee of the Women's Automotive Association International. She also serves on the advisor board of the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the executive advisor board of the Juran Center for Leadership in Quality at the University of Minnesota.

Stevens has been named four times to the Fortune magazine's list of "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" and was named by Automotive News as a 2005 "Leading Woman in the North American Automotive Industry." In 2006, Motor Trend nominated her to the "Power List," the car magazine's list of the top 50 most powerful people in the automotive industry. Stevens was listed 41st and was one of just two women to make the list.

For more information about Ford Motor Company and the "Way Forward" plan, visit www.ford.com.