Ford Cousins Deny a Rift Will Develop
Cousins Edsel Ford II and William Clay Ford Jr., both great-grandsons of Henry Ford, said their appointment to the board of Ford Motor Co. creates no risk of a fissure in the nation’s No. 2 auto maker.
“I think the media loves to try and make a big deal of it, but in fact within our family it’s really a non-issue because we both have independent careers within the company,” said William Ford Jr., chairman and managing director of Ford Switzerland.
Billy, as he is usually called, is the son of company Vice Chairman William Clay Ford, who is the late Henry Ford II’s brother and owns the NFL Detroit Lions.
When the board appointments were announced Monday, industry analysts said the probability increased that one of the two would someday become company chairman.
But the two cousins laughed at the prediction.
“I aspire to a top job at Ford, but not the top job. There are a number of jobs I could be happy in. Ford’s such a large corporation that there’s plenty of room for both of us and even more Ford (family) members, if they want to join,” said Billy, 39.
“I think we both realize that we’re going to accomplish a heck of a lot more pulling together than we ever will pulling apart,” he added.
Edsel, 30, who is the only son of Henry Ford II, has been general sales manager of Lincoln-Mercury Division since June.
“The media wants to have some fun with Billy and I, and they don’t know any of the facts. The facts are that we’re good friends and that there is no rivalry,” he said.
“It’s up to us . . . not to get ourselves in a position where we’re going to be against each other. It’s up to he and I to represent the fourth generation as a team rather than as divided individuals.”
Both said they see no difficulties in keeping separate the duties involved in their present positions and in serving on the board. The Ford family holds 40% of the vote through a special class of stock.
Henry Ford II, who died last September, joined the company in 1943 after the death of his father, Edsel Ford. He became president of the privately held company at age 28 in 1945. He took the firm public in the 1950s and by 1979, he assured stockholders: “There are no crown princes at Ford Motor Co. and there is no privileged route to the top.”
