born in allentown, pa to italian immigrant parents lehigh university – majored in industrial...
TRANSCRIPT
LEE IACOCCA
Upbringing
Born in Allentown, PA to Italian immigrant parents
Lehigh University – majored in Industrial Engineering
Princeton University
Work at Ford
Started as an engineer (1946), moved into Ford’s sales force, then into product development
Vice-president (1960), car and truck group; executive vice-president (1967); president (1970-1978)
Lincoln Continental Mark III
More while at Ford…
Ford Escort Revival of Mercury brand Mercury Cougar and Marquis Moving force behind…
Controversy
CEO of Ford Lee Iacocca wanted a 1971 model that weighed less than 2,000 pounds and that would be priced at less than $2,000.[7] A team of stylists at Ford was assigned to design the Pinto's exterior and interior instead of using the European Ford Escort.
Controversy followed the Pinto after 1977 allegations that the Pinto's structural design allowed its fuel tank filler neck to break off[8] and the fuel tank, in all too common occasions, to be punctured in a rear-end collision,[8] resulting in deadly fires from spilled fuel.
From Ford to Chrysler
After clashing with Henry Ford II (son of Edsel Ford, grandson of Henry Ford), Iacocca was fired. Iacocca was courted by Chrysler which was on the brink of going out of business.
Iacocca joined Chrysler and began rebuilding the entire company from the ground up, laying off many workers, selling the loss-making Chrysler Europe division to Peugeot, and bringing in many former associates from his former company.
Iacocca sought loan guaranties from the US Government
Mini-Max project led to the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager; K-Car Dodge Aires and Plymouth Reliant.
Iacocca led Chrysler's acquisition of AMC in 1987, which brought the profitable Jeep division under the corporate umbrella. It created the short-lived Eagle division, formed from the remnants of AMC. By this time, AMC had already finished most of the work with the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which Iacocca wanted. The Grand Cherokee would not be released until 1992 for the 1993 model year, the same year that Iacocca retired.
Life After the Auto Industry
• In May 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Iacocca to head the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, which was created to raise funds for the renovation and preservation of the Statue of Liberty. He continues to serve on the board of the foundation.
• In 1984, Iacocca co-authored (with William Novak) an autobiography, titled Iacocca: An Autobiography. It was the best selling non-fiction hardback book of 1984 and 1985. He donated the proceeds of the book's sales to diabetes research.
• In 1988, Iacocca co-authored (with Sonny Kleinfeld) Talking Straight,[8] a book meant as a counter-balance to Akio Morita's Made in Japan, a non-fiction book praising Japan's post-war hard-working culture. Talking Straight praised the innovation and creativity of Americans.[9]
Lee Iacocca.net
Where Have All the Leaders Gone
The speed of the boss is the speed of the team. The trick is to make sure you don't die waiting for
prosperity to come. There ain't no free lunches in this country. And don't go
spending your whole life commiserating that you got raw deals. You've got to say, 'I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it.
In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.
We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluable problems.
No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?
The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.
Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then...do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen.
When the product is right, you don't have to be a great marketer.
