Donald Petersen
Encyclopedia
Donald Eugene Petersen is an American
businessman who was employed by the Ford Motor Company
for 40 years, most notably as its Chief Executive Officer
from 1985 to 1989.
Born in Pipestone, Minnesota, Mr. Petersen served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II
and the Korean War
. He received his BSME from the University of Washington
in 1946 and joined Ford in 1949 after receiving his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business
.
Donald E. Petersen became Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company on February 1, 1985. Prior to his election as Chairman, Mr. Petersen was President and COO
(Chief Operating Officer) from March 13, 1980. He was a member of the Board of Directors from September 8, 1977 until his retirement in February 1990.
Hailed a "Most Valuable Person" of 1988 by USA Today
and "CEO of the Year" by Chief Executive magazine in 1989, Petersen transformed Ford with his inclusive, team-oriented management style.
Mr. Petersen was famously known for instructing the Ford design staff to design vehicles they would be proud to buy and park in their own driveways. This change in philosophy came about after he was answered in the negative as he inquired of a Ford designer whether he was proud of the design he was working on. This watershed event culminated in the groundbreaking and wildly successful design of the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable twins which pulled Ford out of its financial doldrums of the early 1980s and provided the motivation and profit which carried Ford for the next decade.
Mr. Petersen's relationship with members of the founding Ford family became strained after he opposed the nomination of founder Henry Ford
's great-grandsons, Edsel Buell Ford II
("Edsel") and William Clay Ford Jr. ("Billy", "Bill Jr.", and later just "Bill") to certain committees of the board of Ford in the wake of the death of family patriarch and former Ford Chairman & CEO Henry Ford II
in 1987. The widening of this schism later cut short Mr. Petersen's tenure at Ford, after a high-profile and public disagreement spilled over into the press regarding differences in strategic direction between Mr. Peterson and the members of the Ford family. These differences were largely due to Mr. Petersen's purchase of the bankrupt Jaguar Cars company after a bidding war between Ford and General Motors
. In the years since, Ford contributed major managerial resources to and several times recapitalized Jaguar with no subsequent return of investment. Ford eventually divested itself of the Jaguar asset on June 2, 2008. He was succeeded by Harold "Red" Poling.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4DE123FF931A15757C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2
Mr. Petersen has, at various times, held director-level board positions at The Boeing Company
, Dow Jones & Co., the Hewlett-Packard Company
, Capital Research and Management Company (mutual funds), Axicon Technologies, Juran Center for Leadership in Quality (Member, Exec. Advisory Board), College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Washington
(President, Advisory Board) and Long Shadows Vintners.
Mr. Petersen is a member of the Business Council, the National Academy of Engineering
, SAE, the Engineering Society of Detroit and Mensa
.
Mr. Petersen and his wife, Jo Anne, reside in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
, Seattle, Washington
, and Montecito, California
. They have two children, Leslie Price (who was born in 1956), and Donald L. Petersen (who was born in 1958). Leslie Price has a daughter named Joanne Price.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman who was employed by the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
for 40 years, most notably as its Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
from 1985 to 1989.
Born in Pipestone, Minnesota, Mr. Petersen served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He received his BSME from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1946 and joined Ford in 1949 after receiving his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business is one of the professional schools of Stanford University, in Stanford, California and is broadly regarded as one of the best business schools in the world.The Stanford GSB offers a general management Master of Business Administration degree, the Sloan...
.
Donald E. Petersen became Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company on February 1, 1985. Prior to his election as Chairman, Mr. Petersen was President and COO
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
(Chief Operating Officer) from March 13, 1980. He was a member of the Board of Directors from September 8, 1977 until his retirement in February 1990.
Hailed a "Most Valuable Person" of 1988 by USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and "CEO of the Year" by Chief Executive magazine in 1989, Petersen transformed Ford with his inclusive, team-oriented management style.
Mr. Petersen was famously known for instructing the Ford design staff to design vehicles they would be proud to buy and park in their own driveways. This change in philosophy came about after he was answered in the negative as he inquired of a Ford designer whether he was proud of the design he was working on. This watershed event culminated in the groundbreaking and wildly successful design of the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable twins which pulled Ford out of its financial doldrums of the early 1980s and provided the motivation and profit which carried Ford for the next decade.
Mr. Petersen's relationship with members of the founding Ford family became strained after he opposed the nomination of founder Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
's great-grandsons, Edsel Buell Ford II
Edsel Ford II
Edsel Bryant Ford II is the great-grandson of Henry Ford and the son of Henry Ford II. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Ford Motor Company.-Education:...
("Edsel") and William Clay Ford Jr. ("Billy", "Bill Jr.", and later just "Bill") to certain committees of the board of Ford in the wake of the death of family patriarch and former Ford Chairman & CEO Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II , commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce", was the son of Edsel Ford and grandson of Henry Ford...
in 1987. The widening of this schism later cut short Mr. Petersen's tenure at Ford, after a high-profile and public disagreement spilled over into the press regarding differences in strategic direction between Mr. Peterson and the members of the Ford family. These differences were largely due to Mr. Petersen's purchase of the bankrupt Jaguar Cars company after a bidding war between Ford and General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. In the years since, Ford contributed major managerial resources to and several times recapitalized Jaguar with no subsequent return of investment. Ford eventually divested itself of the Jaguar asset on June 2, 2008. He was succeeded by Harold "Red" Poling.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4DE123FF931A15757C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2
Mr. Petersen has, at various times, held director-level board positions at The Boeing Company
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Dow Jones & Co., the Hewlett-Packard Company
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, Capital Research and Management Company (mutual funds), Axicon Technologies, Juran Center for Leadership in Quality (Member, Exec. Advisory Board), College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(President, Advisory Board) and Long Shadows Vintners.
Mr. Petersen is a member of the Business Council, the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
, SAE, the Engineering Society of Detroit and Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
.
Mr. Petersen and his wife, Jo Anne, reside in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
, Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, and Montecito, California
Montecito, California
Montecito is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 8,965 in 2010. This does not include areas such as Coast Village Road, that, while usually considered part of Montecito, are actually within the city limits of Santa...
. They have two children, Leslie Price (who was born in 1956), and Donald L. Petersen (who was born in 1958). Leslie Price has a daughter named Joanne Price.