| (1917
- 1987) |
| Inducted: |
1996 |
| Region: |
MidWest |
| Industry: |
Transportation
Manufacturing |
|
Henry Ford II was named president of Ford Motor Company in 1945 at the age of 28. A generation of mishandling caused poor management and out-dated organizational structure. The younger Ford began building flexible relationships with the company’s unions and modernizing its outdated administrative and production techniques. He hired a team of eight former Air Force officers who had been trained at the Harvard Business School. Ford reversed the autocratic style practiced by his grandfather and father and created decentralized operations in Europe and other global markets. |
