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Mark Fields takes over Ford's American operations
Detroit: Ford Motor Chief Executive William Clay Ford Jr. on Thursday tapped Mark Fields, chief of Ford Europe and Premier Automotive Group (PAG), Ford's luxury division, to take over as president, the Americas. Fields obvious target would be to restore profits in North America.

Fields, 44, had recently brought Ford's European and luxury operations back on its feet, and will now head back to Ford's Dearborn, Mich., headquarters to take over from executive vice president Greg Smith, 54. Smith becomes vice chairman, with responsibility for administrative staffs, including human resources and labor relations.

Smith had been in charge of Ford's North American business for only 16 months. During that time, Ford slid backward amid a vicious price war, high plant and labor costs, and a continuing loss of market share. Earlier this year, Bill Ford abandoned his goal of achieving US$7bn in pretax profit by 2006.

Before running Ford Europe and Premier Automotive Group (PAG), Ford's luxury division, Fields led a turnaround at Mazda, which is 50% owned by Ford. In a press release, Bill Ford called him "one of our most experienced, capable and proven leaders."

The company is expected to soon announce details of a revised turnaround plan that could include several plant closings and thousands of job cuts.

Another person promoted on Thursday is executive vice president Mark Schulz, 53, who is now responsible for all of Ford's international operations. He had been in charge of the automaker's operations in Asia and Africa.
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