Ford Motor Company, the nations second-largest automaker, announced that chief operating officer Jim Padilla will replace Nick Scheele as president and serve on the board of directors effective February 1, 2005. Padilla is the first Hispanic to serve as president of the company.
"On behalf of the HACR board of directors, I would like to congratulate Jim Padilla, a highly respected individual in the Hispanic community, on a richly deserved promotion," said Alfonso Martinez, president and CEO of HACR. "Ford Motor Company stakeholders observe significant leadership moves of this type with great interest. Moreover, the Hispanic community applauds the inclusion of Hispanics at the most influential levels of corporate America. Not only are we proud to see Jim advance to Ford's presidency, but we are also very pleased to see him as a key member to the Ford Board of Directors."
Mr. Padilla became chief operating officer and chairman of Ford Automotive Operations nine months ago when he was given oversight of marketing, manufacturing, engineering and other operations in more than 200 countries with 327,000 employees. Prior to serving as COO, Mr. Padilla was president, North America and South America Operations.
Mr. Padilla joined Ford in 1966, beginning his career as a quality control engineer. He has held a series of management positions of increasing responsibility in project engineering and manufacturing.
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 327,000 employees worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Credit, Quality Care and Hertz. Ford Motor Company celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 16, 2003.
For more information, please contact:
Omar Velarde-Wong
Director of Communications
Phone: 202.835.9672
Fax: 202.457.0455
ovelarde@hacr.org
