| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : OCTOBER 11, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| COVER STORY
Nasser's Game Plan NEW BLOOD In a bid to juice up Ford's stodgy executive suite, Nasser has hired a slew of highly regarded managers from auto makers around the globe. He has also tapped top consumer-goods makers for marketing and sales talent. His all-star team is now considered among the industry's best. CUSTOMER FOCUS Nasser is pushing everyone from engineers to marketing staffers to get closer to customers rather than rely on second-hand market research. He's also backing innovative new ventures, such as Ford's recent stake in MSN's CarPoint Web site. Nasser's goal: to mine the site's data from online purchases to understand buyers better. MORE AUTONOMY Ford 2000, the five-year-old plan that centralized global decision-making, brought big cost savings but has hurt regional managers' ability to react to local markets. With problems brewing in Ford's international units, Nasser will launch a structural shakeup next year aimed at giving regional executives more power over car brands and marketing. GOING FOR GROWTH Nasser wants to boost Ford stock's price-earnings ratio from 9 to the 30 range enjoyed by consumer companies. So he's moving into higher-margin service businesses, such as quick-repair stations. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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 RELATED ITEMS Remaking Ford COVER IMAGE: Remaking Ford TABLE: Nasser's Game Plan PHOTO: 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac PHOTO: 2001 Ford F-150 SuperCrew Truck PHOTO: Ford's Jaguar S-Type CHART: Ford's Stock Leads the Pack and Profits Are Booming... CHART: ...But Most Are Coming from Trucks and Overseas Units Are Struggling Why the Unions Are Stirred Up Europe: Where Ford Needs to Step on the Gas CHART: Ford Fades Out ONLINE ORIGINAL: Chairman Bill Ford Talks about Jac Nasser ONLINE ORIGINAL: Jac Nasser: 'In the Past, We Tried to Do Too Much' ONLINE ORIGINAL: Can Nasser Get Ford's Stock onto a Smoother Road? INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
