Ford Motor Co. Announces Changing Of The Guard

By Agence France-Presse The Ford Motor Co. announced Dec. 9 that two company veterans and architects of the automaker's turnaround plan will retire from the company in February. President Nick Scheele and vice chairman Allan Gilmour, both of whom were recalled to Detroit in 2001 to help get the ailing automaker back on track, will step down February 1, 2005. The current chief operating officer Jim Padilla will assume the president's job and get a seat on the board at that time, continuing his swift rise through the ranks. Chief financial officer Don Leclair has been named an executive vice president and will oversee Ford Motor Credit Company, the company's revenues driver, and the General Auditors Office, effective January 1, 2005. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004