Ford family grabs more power in shake-up

Jacques Nasser: has run Ford single-handedly until now

Troubled car giant Ford has unveiled a management shake-up in a bid to defuse tensions at the top.

The great grandson of founder Henry Ford has been granted more power within the company, which is struggling to recover from massive tyre recalls, shrinking profits and quality-control problems.

Bill Ford: will share power with Nasser

William Clay Ford Jr, Ford's chairman, will share more power with chief executive Jacques Nasser, who has been with Ford for 33 years and has effectively run the company single-handedly since 1999.

Mr Ford is the leading representative of the Ford family, which still owns about 40% of the car giant's stock.

The two men will be part of a new "office of the chairman and chief executive", which will allow them to meet formally at least twice a month.

Globetrotting itinerary

Until now, the pair have stuck to a fairly traditional chairman-CEO arrangement, where Mr Nasser oversaw all day-to-day matters and Ford had the final word in strategic decisions.

Most of those decisions were presented to Ford for his approval as a last step in the process.

The two men came up with the new arrangement after a request from Ford's board of directors during their meeting this month.

It follows rumours that Mr Ford had trouble keeping tabs on Mr Nasser's globetrotting itinerary.

The change comes after one of the most turbulent periods in 98-year history of the world's second biggest car maker.

Ford troubles

In the past year, Ford has recalled 19.5 million Firestone tyres on its vehicles, with about 200 deaths and 700 injuries linked to accidents related to Firestone tyres.

It has seen its US market share wither under attack from foreign automakers, just as rival General Motors. revived its truck business.

And it has faced a number of quality problems, from recalls to low scores on industry quality surveys.

"We face challenging times and this new structure allows both Jacques and me to work hand-in-hand to lead the company forward and meet these challenges," Bill Ford said in a statement.

"We will continue to work together to maintain our strong position in the marketplace."

The company said Mr Nasser's responsibilities had not changed

He has run the company without a chief operating officer or top deputy since taking the helm in 1999 and has 14 executives directly reporting to him.

Power struggles

Ford family members have a long history of power struggles with executives, starting with Henry Ford himself.

Bill is in no position to take over and run things by himself. He needs Nasser

David Lewis, professor of business history, University of Michigan

David Lewis, a professor of business history at the University of Michigan who has studied the company, said the move was probably a first step toward Bill Ford assuming full control at some stage.

"It's natural for him to want to acquire additional power, and it's inevitable that this gets done," he said.

But he added: "Bill is in no position to take over and run things by himself. He needs Nasser."

Analyst Steven Girsky with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter said the move was a positive one for investors, and should take some pressure off Mr Nasser.

"It will allow Nasser to focus on developing, building and marketing cars, something he is very good at," Mr Girsky said.

"Bill Ford can work to improve relationships with various constituencies.

"The net result will be that Ford will be more involved in the business but Nasser will still be running it."