Ford Motor Company
Upon graduating, in 1968 the 20-year-old Nasser joined Ford as a financial analyst, working at the head office in Australia. In 1973 he joined Ford's global financial staff and transferred to Ford's North American Truck Operations in the United States. Afterward, he returned to Australia to work as a manager of product programming and financial analysis, before joining Ford's International Automotive Operations. While with the international division, he helped oversee Asia-Pacific and Latin American operations. While working in Argentina, Nasser was notably kidnapped by political extremists, being returned to the Ford plant two days later.
Nasser helped in the negotiations of Ford's South African joint venture program in 1982. The following year, he developed a business and operating plan for Ford's Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico. In 1987 Nasser became the first director and vice president of Autolatina, a joint venture between Ford and Volkswagen in Brazil and Argentina. While remaining in charge of Autolatina, in 1989 he also took charge of Ford Australia, where he had started his career. He remained president and CEO of Ford Australia until 1993, where he picked up the corporate nicknames "Jac the Knife" for cost-cutting efficiencies. He was also dubbed "Black Jack" for his ability to keep numbers north of red. On 1 January 1993, Nasser was elected chairman of the board of Ford Europe, a role he maintained until 1996. He was promoted to vice president of Ford Motor Company in 1993 as well, becoming Ford's group vice president of product development in 1994. While in his position of Ford's VP, Fortune writes that he developed a reputation for working 18-hour days and regularly interacting with Ford employees via a newsletter. Wrote Fortune about his time as VP, "if Ford is a religion, then Nasser is the head preacher." On 1 November 1996, he began heading Ford Automotive Operations. Nasser was the featured speaker at the 1998 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS).
Bloomberg Businessweek described Nasser in late 1998 as a "scrappy, hard-nosed cost-cutter who is widely credited with Ford's turnaround," and Fortune in June 1998 described Nasser as "heir apparent" to Ford CEO Alex Trotman, who was soon to retire. The projected high-profile appointment met with a great deal of attention in the press, and largely positive reactions. On 1 January 1999, Nasser became president and CEO, as well as a member of the board of directors, of Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. During Nasser's time, Ford was the world's most profitable automaker, with profits of $7.2 billion on sales of $163 billion, so he was given free rein to experiment by the simultaneously appointed chairman Bill Ford. Nasser announced that he would transform Ford, according to The Economist, into a "consumer-products and services company". He stated he would work to help Ford surpass GM in US market share, and would also try to make Ford less reliant on pickup truck sales and expand into markets including electric, connected vehicles.
Nasser promptly instituted a number of changes as CEO, closing plants that were losing money and selling unprofitable operations. He also instituted a new human resources policy mandating that 10 percent of low-performing managers could be subject to termination, arguing that new people and turnover were good for the company. He also instituted a program that gave internet access and home computers to employees. Beyond human resources, Nasser's other focus was brand management, and under Nasser's watch, in 1999 Ford formed Premier Automotive Group (PAG) to expand its market share in the luxury segment. PAG was formed to oversee the business operations of Ford's high-end automotive marques, and it grew to include responsibility for the Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo brands. To reinvigorate certain brand lines, Nasser brought in car designer J Mays. He also oversaw Ford's 1999 acquisition of Volvo, Land Rover, and helped Ford start an "automotive e-business integrated supply chain."
He diversified Ford's businesses to include e-commerce, junkyards, auto-repair shops, and car distribution among others. By August 1999, The Economist clarified that Nasser had already acquired the Kwik Fit exhausts-and-brakes chain in Europe, American scrapyard businesses, the consumer-finance arm of Japan's Mazda, and had "even signed a deal to provide drivers with satellite-fed audio and other services for a monthly fee." The Economist pointed out the diversification was an attempt to increase profit margins, as "whereas car makers are lucky to scrape operating margins of more than 5% from actually making cars, other businesses such as leasing, renting, insurance, finance and car repair, can all achieve margins of 10-15%." Also, by late 1999 Nasser was working to sell the under-performing in-house parts company, Visteon. Ford of North America began marketing the Ford Focus in October 1999 for the 2000 model year as a surprise Christmas present for Nasser, with some changes from the European version. Ford's profits in 1999 were US$6.5 billion ($A9.94 billion), which Drive.com claims was the largest "ever made in the world car industry."
According to CNN, Nasser was "point man" in the dispute between Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. over tire safety. After an investigation in early 2000 found that tread separation on Firestone tires had led to fatalities in some Ford Explorers, Nasser appeared on prime-time television to announce a product recall allowing Ford owners to change the affected tires for others. Firestone responded by arguing that Ford Explorers had caused the accidents, not its tires, while Nasser defended the Explorer as one of the safer SUVs on the market. On 6 September 2000, Nasser and Bridgestone executive Masatoshi Ono confronted a US Congressional sub-committee on the recall. Dispute arose in the hearings over whether Ford and Firestone had known about similar problems in the 1970s and 1990s. Nasser again denied that Ford had responsibility in the accidents, with Ono admitting some fault. On 22 May 2001, Bridgestone's CEO wrote to Nasser canceling the 100-year supply relationship between their companies, arguing Ford's tire recall was "casting doubt on the quality of Firestone tires." After numerous class action lawsuits, Firestone ultimately recalled millions of tires later that year, with Ford Motor using AUS$4.4 billion of its own funds to replace Firestone tires on its vehicles. The scandal helped lead to a sharp dip in Ford's 2001 quarterly share prices.
By late 2001, Nasser's efforts to diversify Ford's core business had met with mixed reactions in the press, with analysts at The Economist and CNN arguing that diversification and recent recalls had hampered productivity. Nasser's manager evaluation system had also proved controversial at Ford, with allegations of reverse discrimination. In July 2001, Nasser announced that the system was being changed to "allow for more flexibility." Ford settled several lawsuits over the system in late 2001 without admitting liability. In October 2001, Nasser retired from his position as Ford's CEO. He was succeeded in both positions by William Clay Ford Jr, who as Henry Ford's great-grandson had previously been chairman and president.
