View source for William Clay Ford Jr.

{{Short description|American businessman (born 1957)}}
{{redirect|Bill Ford|other people of the similar name|William Ford (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = William Clay Ford Jr.
| image              = Bill Ford 2012-02-27 002 (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Ford in 2012
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1957|5|3}}
| birth_place        = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| occupation         = Executive Chairman of the [[Ford Motor Company]]
| spouse             = Lisa Vanderzee
| children           = 4
| mother             = [[Martha Firestone Ford]]
| father             = [[William Clay Ford Sr.]]
| relatives          = [[Sheila Ford Hamp]] (sister)<br>[[Henry Ford|Henry Ford I]] (great-grandfather)<br>[[Edsel Ford|Edsel Ford I]] (grandfather)<br>[[Henry Ford II]] (uncle)<br>[[Edsel Ford II]] (cousin)<br>[[Harvey S. Firestone]] (great-grandfather)<br>[[Harvey S. Firestone Jr.]] (grandfather)
| family             = [[Ford family (Michigan)| Ford]]
| education          = [[Princeton University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])
}}
'''William Clay Ford Jr.''' (born May 3, 1957) is an American businessman, serving as the executive chair of [[Ford Motor Company]] since 1999. The great-grandson of company founder [[Henry Ford]], Ford joined the board in 1988, and also served as [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of the company from 2001 to 2006.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/07/10/auto-microsoft-research-development-intelligent-investing-ford.html|title=Get Briefed: William Clay Ford Jr.|last=Zendrian|first=Alexandra|date=July 12, 2010|work=Forbes|access-date=September 25, 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="money.cnn.com">{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/09/05/news/companies/ford/index.htm|work=CNN|date=September 5, 2006|title=Ford names new CEO}}</ref> He also serves as the vice chair of the [[Detroit Lions]] [[National Football League|NFL]] franchise,<ref name="William Clay Ford jr – Biography">{{cite news | url=http://www.detroitlions.com/team/staff/william-clay-ford-jr/b0672150-f6ba-446e-9f4b-07e0fbb37094 | work=Detroit Lions | title=William Clay Ford jr – Biography | access-date=April 13, 2012 | archive-date=May 10, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510235135/http://www.detroitlions.com/team/staff/william-clay-ford-jr/b0672150-f6ba-446e-9f4b-07e0fbb37094 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and as chair of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://usmcoc.org/about-us/binational-board-of-directors/|title=Binational Board of Directors {{!}} United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce |website=usmcoc.org|language=en-US|access-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Ford was born in [[Detroit, Michigan]], the great-grandson of [[Henry Ford|Henry Ford I]] and great-grandson of [[Harvey S. Firestone]]. His father was [[William Clay Ford Sr.]] and his mother was [[Martha Firestone Ford|Martha Firestone]]. On his mother's side, his grandparents were [[Harvey S. Firestone Jr.]] and [[Elizabeth Parke Firestone|Elizabeth Parke]]. On his father's side, his grandparents were [[Edsel Ford|Edsel Ford I]] and Eleanor Lowthian Clay. [[Edsel Ford II]], son of [[Henry Ford II]] and also a board member, is his first cousin. Ford has three sisters: Martha Morse (who has 3 children), [[Sheila Ford Hamp]] (who has 3 children), and Elizabeth Kontulis. He, like his great-grandfather Henry Ford, is of mainly Irish, English, and Belgian descent.

Ford graduated from the [[Hotchkiss School]] in Connecticut in 1975.<ref name=AlumniAchievements>{{cite web |url=http://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/Accomplishments.aspx |title=Alumni Award: Previous Recipients |publisher=The Hotchkiss School |date=2004 |access-date=March 8, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310133421/http://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/Accomplishments.aspx |archive-date=March 10, 2015}}</ref> He then attended [[Princeton University]] and graduated with an B.A. in history in 1979 after completing a 105-page long senior thesis titled "[[Henry Ford]] and Labor: A Reappraisal."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ford|first=Jr|date=1979|title=Henry Ford and Labor: A Reappraisal|url=http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01hx11xg38v}}</ref> While a student at Princeton, Ford was president of the [[Ivy Club]] and played on the [[Princeton Rugby|Princeton rugby team]]. In 1984 he received an [[Master of Science|M.S.]] in management as a [[Sloan Fellow]] from the [[MIT Sloan School of Management]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/specials/mit150/mitlist/?page=full|title=The MIT 150: 150 Ideas, Inventions, and Innovators that Helped Shape Our World|publisher=[[The Boston Globe]] | date=May 15, 2011|access-date=August 8, 2011}}</ref>

==Career==
He joined Ford in 1979 and held a variety of positions, beginning in product development and on the financial staff, a grooming ground for future executives. He served several years as a mid-ranking executive in product development. He also briefly headed the Climate Control Division (since divested from the company as part of the [[Visteon]] spinoff). At the time of the Ford 2000 reorganization, he was in charge of heavy truck operations.

===Corporate governance===
Ford gave up an executive position in heavy truck program management to become chairman of the finance committee on the [[board of directors]], a non-executive corporate governance position. He was elected chairman of the board in September 1998 and took office on January 1, 1999. Ford added the title of [[chief executive officer]] on October 30, 2001, following the ouster of then-CEO [[Jacques Nasser]]. With the retirement of Ford [[president (corporate title)|president]] and [[chief operating officer]] Jim Padilla in April 2006, Bill Ford assumed those roles as well. On September 5, 2006, Ford announced that he was stepping down as president and CEO, naming former [[Boeing]] senior executive [[Alan Mulally]] as his replacement. Ford continues as the company's executive chairman.<ref name="money.cnn.com" />

At the time of his stepping down, Ford was ranked 264th on ''[[Forbes]]''' list of top-earning CEOs, at $10 million per year.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/12/Rank_11.html "CEO Compensation"] – 251-275 on Forbes.com's top-earning CEO's list. URL accessed September 6, 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/12/X5J3.html|title=William Clay Ford Jr, CEO Compensation – Forbes.com|work=forbes.com|access-date=June 20, 2015}}</ref>

===Business developments===
In 2000, he announced that the company would achieve a 25% improvement in [[fuel efficiency]] in the company's light truck fleet, including SUVs, by mid-decade.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/28/business/ford-says-research-inspired-new-push-for-fuel-economy.html|title=Ford Says Research Inspired New Push for Fuel Economy|last=Bradsher|first=Keith|date=July 28, 2000|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 8, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Under his direction, [[Ford Motor Company]] made technological progress toward improving fuel efficiency, with the introduction of the [[Hybrid Electric]] [[Ford Escape Hybrid|Escape]], the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market, achieving 36 mpg (EPA) in city driving.<ref>[http://media.ford.com/products/presskit_display.cfm?vehicle_id=1438&press_subsection_id=421&make_id=92 Ford presskit display vehicle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015031224/http://media.ford.com/products/presskit_display.cfm?vehicle_id=1438&press_subsection_id=421&make_id=92 |date=October 15, 2008 }}. ''media.ford.com''.</ref> The Escape's platform mates [[Mercury Mariner]] and [[Mazda Tribute]] were also scheduled to receive hybrid-electric powertrain options, along with other upcoming vehicles in the Ford product line including the [[Ford Fusion (Americas)|Ford Fusion]] and [[Mercury Milan]]. Ford announced that half of the vehicle lineup would be available with advanced hybrid-electric powerplant options by 2010, although the company's earlier pledge to build 250,000 hybrid vehicles a year by 2010 proved to be overly optimistic and had to be abandoned. Ford also continued to study [[Fuel Cell]]-powered electric powertrains and demonstrated hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine technologies, as well as developing the next-generation hybrid-electric systems. In addition to the Ford Escape, Hybrid Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute, Ford marketed high efficiency crossover SUVs such as the [[Ford Taurus X|Ford Freestyle]], the [[Volvo V70/XC70|Volvo XC70]] and the [[Volvo XC90]]. Ford also developed new crossover SUVs, such as the [[Ford Edge]], [[Lincoln MKX]], and [[Mazda CX-7]].

Ford expanded its lineup of [[flexible-fuel vehicle]]s, [[alternative fuel vehicle]]s, and dual-fuel vehicles. Flexible fuel vehicles can operate on a range of fuel mixtures – such as ethanol-gasoline blends ranging from pure gasoline to [[E85]] (85% [[ethanol]], 15% gasoline). Alternative fuel vehicles operate on non-petroleum fuels, such as [[methanol]], [[compressed natural gas]] (CNG), [[propane]], and hydrogen. Dual fuel vehicles generally have two fuel tanks – one for compressed natural gas or propane, and another for regular gasoline – with a selector switch to choose between them. Vehicles using those fueling alternatives were in test fleets, for example as taxis and shuttle buses, and some were available for sale to the public. Ford was committed to sell 250,000 alternative and flexible fuel vehicles – the majority of which would be designed to operate on ethanol-gasoline blends such as [[E85]] – in 2006.<ref>[http://www.ford.com/en/innovation/technology/ethanolCapableVehicles/default.htm Innovation technology ethanol Capable Vehicles] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060715134340/http://www.ford.com/en/innovation/technology/ethanolCapableVehicles/default.htm |date=July 15, 2006 }}. ''ford.com''.</ref>

Speaking at conference in November 2000 in [[London]], Ford suggested that the company might one day offer a [[Vehicle leasing|service where it owns vehicles and makes them available to people]] when they need access to them.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2000/nov/12/theobserver.observerbusiness7|title=The Motown missionary|work=[[The Observer]] |date=November 12, 2000|access-date=April 1, 2008|location=London|first=Terry|last=Slavin}}</ref>

Market competition, health care, and raw material costs led Ford to announce a second restructuring for its North American operations in four years. Ford's restructuring plan, dubbed "[[The Way Forward]]", reversed a $1.6 billion loss during 2009 in its North American operations. The company returned to profitability in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=22357|title=Media.Ford.com: FORD MOTOR COMPANY REPORTS 2005 NET INCOME OF $2 BILLION, PROFITABLE FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR|access-date=June 28, 2006|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614061604/http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=22357|archive-date=June 14, 2006}}. ''media.ford.com''.</ref>

===Fontinalis Partners===
Ford has been a vocal advocate for improvements to be made in all modes of global transportation, having stated that governments and private industry would need to rethink transportation infrastructure and technology as the global population expands and the existing infrastructure is unable to keep pace.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2011/03/03/bill-ford-warns-of-%E2%80%9Cglobal-gridlock%E2%80%9D/ | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Joseph B. | last=White | title=Bill Ford Warns of 'Global Gridlock' (Video) | date=March 3, 2011}}</ref>  In January 2010, he announced the launch of a strategic investment firm, Fontinalis Partners, with the purpose of investing in innovative companies developing next-generation mobility solutions.{{clarify|date=July 2018}} Ford co-founded the firm with Ralph Booth (chairman and CEO of Booth American Company and a media and telecom investor), Mark Schulz (former head of Ford Motor Company's international operations), Chris Cheever, and Chris Thomas.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/28/bill-ford-venture-capitalist/ | work=CNN | title=Today in Tech}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Ford is married to Lisa Vanderzee Ford, and they have four children.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sherrill|first1=Martha|title=The Buddha of Detroit|url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001126mag-ford.html|access-date=September 24, 2017|work=The New York Times Magazine|date=November 26, 2000}}</ref> He is first cousin to [[Alfred Ford]].

Ford has been a vegetarian since 1990, and adopted a [[vegan]] diet in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hancock|first1=Edith|title=17 powerful people you didn't know were vegan|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/powerful-people-you-didnt-know-were-vegan-2016-11/ |access-date=September 24, 2017|work=Business Insider|date=November 1, 2016|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ford family tree]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805072303/http://www.fontinalispartners.com/team-bill-ford.php Fontinalis Partners Biography]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060131005930/http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/William_Ford_Jr.php William Ford Jr.'s campaign contributions]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060503164430/http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=22465 Bill Ford's ''The Way Forward'' speech – 23 Jan 2006]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/the-fords-go-into-reverse/2007/01/26/1169788690578.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 The Fords go into Reverse – by John Lippert and Bill Koenig] A lengthy ''[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]'' article (2007) profiling Bill Ford and the 81-member family.
* {{TED speaker|2=Bill Ford}}
* {{C-SPAN|1012421}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bus}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alexander Trotman, Baron Trotman|Alexander Trotman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the [[Ford Motor Company]]|years=1999–present}}
{{s-inc}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Jacques Nasser]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=CEO of the [[Ford Motor Company]]|years=2001–2006}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Alan Mulally]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Henry Ford}}
{{Ford Motor Company}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, William Clay Jr.}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American chairpersons of corporations]]
[[Category:American chief executives in the automotive industry]]
[[Category:American chief executives in the manufacturing industry]]
[[Category:American chief operating officers]]
[[Category:American male taekwondo practitioners]]
[[Category:American philanthropists]]
[[Category:Arena Football League executives]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Detroit]]
[[Category:Firestone family]]
[[Category:Ford executives]]
[[Category:Family of Henry Ford|William Clay Jr.]]
[[Category:Hotchkiss School alumni]]
[[Category:MIT Sloan Fellows]]
[[Category:MIT Sloan School of Management alumni]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Detroit Lions executives]]
[[Category:Detroit Lions owners]]