List of Ford of Australia Presidents since 1925

[Syndrome]

Where can a list of the people who were at the head of Ford of Australia be found? If such a list does now exist, who can put together a list of names?

[simon varley]

nobody?

okay let's start a combined effort:

Bill Dix 1981
Jacques Nasser 1989-1992
John Ogden 1992
David Morgan 1995
Geoff Polites 1999-
Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008-2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010
Bob Graziano 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman
Kay Hart

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by simon varley

nobody?

okay let's start a combined effort:

Bill Dix 1981
Jacques Nasser 1989-1992
John Ogden 1992
David Morgan 1995
Geoff Polites 1999-
Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008-2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010
Bob Graziano 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman
Kay Hart

Musical CEOs - come in, collect bank for making ****ty decisions and then leaving when everything is on fire.

When you get C level executives doing short terms they have zero interest in putting in the hard yards to fix issues.

You work there, what's your opinion, how many of the names on that list were worth the money they got paid and which ones should be in the Centrelink queue?

[Raptor]

Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971 (Falcon GT & Falcon 428 Cobra Jet GT daly driver)

The late, great (and AFF Member) Geoff Polites was the cream of the crop in my opinion. ( BA Falcon & Territory)
I met both Uncle Geoff and his successor Gormon (AFF Raid's) but quickly lost interest in who headed the show after that.

Jac Nasser (aka 'Jac-the-Knife') must have also impressed as went on to become VP and then CEO of the whole company (1996-1999).


.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Raptor

Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971 (Falcon GT & Falcon 428 Cobra Jet GT daly driver)

The late, great (and AFF Member) Geoff Polites was the cream of the crop in my opinion. ( BA Falcon & Territory)
I met both Uncle Geoff and his successor Gormon (AFF Raid's) but quickly lost interest in who headed the show after that.

Jac Nasser (aka 'Jac-the-Knife') must have also impressed as went on to become VP and then CEO of the whole company (1996-1999).


.

Polites learned everything he knew from Bourke. No wonder he was such a good president. Taught him the only 2 things that sells cars is sex and muscle.

It's no surprise that Geoff put a heap of effort into the performance Falcons when he made it to the top.

[Syndrome]

Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971
Bill Dix 1981
Jacques Nasser 1989-1992
John Ogden 1992
David Morgan 1995
Geoff Polites 1999-
Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008-2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010
Bob Graziano 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman
Kay Hart


Charles Smith who canned the Zephyr and replaced it with the Falcon.


Hubert French around the time the first utility was made.

[Trendseeker]

Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971
Bill Dix 1981
Jacques Nasser 1989-1992
John Ogden 1992
David Morgan 1995
Geoff Polites 1999-
Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008-2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010
Bob Graziano 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman 2015-2018
Kay Hart 2018-2020
Andrew Birkic 2020-

https://www.whichcar.com.au/car-news...y-hart-resigns

[kcodezd]

Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971
Brian Inglis 1970-1981 MD
Bill Dix 1981
Jacques Nasser 1989-1992
John Ogden 1992
David Morgan 1995
Geoff Polites 1999-
Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008-2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010
Bob Graziano 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman 2015-2018
Kay Hart 2018-2020
Andrew Birkic 2020-

http://www.carsofaustralia.com.au/fo...8db923e7ce9db5

[Syndrome]

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fren...-charles-10249

[GT1533]

The complete list:

Hubert French (US) 1925-1950
Charles Smith (UK/Canada) 1950-1959
John McIntyre (Canada) 1959-1963
Wallace Booth (US) 1963-1967
Bill Bourke (US) 1967-1970
Sir Brian Inglis (Aus) 1970-1981
Bill Dix (Aus) 1981-1990
Jac Nasser (Aus) 1990-1992
John Ogden (US) 1993-1995
David Morgan (Aus) 1995-1999
Geoff Polites (Aus) 1999-2005
Tom Gorman (US) 2005-2008
Bill Osborne (US) 2008
Marin Burela (Aus) 2008-2010
Bob Graziano (US) 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman (UK) 2015-2018
Kay Hart (NZ) 2018-2020
Andrew Birkic (Aust) 2020-


Some left great legacies, others not so much.....

[Franco Cozzo]

Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008-2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010

They were playing musical CEO when they would have decided the fate of the Falcon.

Looks like they've come in, seen that it's a challenge and decided it was 'too hard' and got out early to save their own reputations - typical pig headed retards who back away from a challenge and work.

We had an ex Toyota CEO come in at the top at one of the companies I worked for and he did the same, was too hard so he ran rather than doing the work.

Real leadership drought at Ford Australia it seems - look at this lot, really what did they reside over?

Marin Burela (Aus) 2008-2010
Bob Graziano (US) 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman (UK) 2015-2018
Kay Hart (NZ) 2018-2020

Maybe the PX Ranger in there, the FG was already done, a couple of tweaks and the FGX which is an appearance package on an FGII.

Bob Graziano is the only one to go a decent length of service out of the mid 00s era.

Graeme Whickman basically wound up the joint and what did Kay Hart do? Done so well she got 'promoted' to looking after the Transit.

[Adamz Ghia]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

They were playing musical CEO when they would have decided the fate of the Falcon.

Looks like they've come in, seen that it's a challenge and decided it was 'too hard' and got out early to save their own reputations - typical pig headed retards who back away from a challenge and work.

or they came in, saw how little support they would get from head office and that it was futile, and left.

[Trendseeker]

Hubert French 1925-1950
Charles Smith 1950-1963
Wallace Booth 1963-1968
Bill Bourke 1968-1970
Brian Inglis 1970-1981
Bill Dix 1981-1990
Jacques Nasser 1990-1992
John Ogden 1992-1995
David Morgan 1995-1999
Geoff Polites 1999-2005
Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008-2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010
Bob Graziano 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman 2015-2018
Kay Hart 2018-2020
Andrew Birkic 2020-

References:
https://www.carsales.com.au/editoria...istory-103766/
https://bauer-archive.x-cago.net/WHL...alcon-fly.html

[simon varley]

I've been here through 7 of them! Definitely an acceleration since I've been on board.

[DFB FGXR6]

Some research I put together a few years ago -

Hubert C French - 1925 to June 1 1950

Charles A Smith - June 1 1950 to Late 1959

John George Wallace McIntyre - Late 1959 to July 1963

Wally Wray Booth - July 1963 to ?

Bill Burke - ? to July 31 1970

Sir Brian Inglis - September 1970 to July 1981

Bill Dix -August 1981 to February 1990

Jacques A Nasser - February 1990 to Early 1993

John Ogden - Early 1993 to Mid 1995

David Morgan - November 1995 to March 1999

Geoff Polites - March 1999 to 2004

Tom Gorman - 2004 to 2008

Bill Osborne - 2008 to 2008

Marin Burella - 2008 to 2010

Robert Graziano - 2010 to 2015

Graeme Wickman - 2015 to July 2018

Kay Hart - July 2018 to Aug 2020

[GT1533]

Their legacies

Hubert French 1925-1950 - started FoA, built Geelong manufacturing
Charles Smith 1950-1959 - chose Falcon over Zephyr, built Broadmeadows
John McIntyre 1959-1963
Wallace Booth 1963-1967
Bill Bourke 1967-1970 - created the Falcon GT
Sir Brian Inglis 1970-1981 - first locally designed Falcon
Bill Dix 1981-1990 - market leadership, approval of 5th generation Falcon
Jac Nasser 1990-1992 - reintroduction of V8
John Ogden 1993-1995 - approval of 6th generation Falcon
David Morgan 1995-1999
Geoff Polites 1999-2005 - Territory, Performance image, 7th generation
Tom Gorman 2005-2008
Bill Osborne 2008
Marin Burela 2008-2010
Bob Graziano 2010-2015
Graeme Whickman 2015-2018
Kay Hart 2018-2020
Andrew Birkic 2020-

Other contributions welcome....

[Silver']

Originally Posted by simon varley

I've been here through 7 of them! Definitely an acceleration since I've been on board.

Any way for you to check on their actual job titles? There's a bit of a debate on what Geoff Polites title would have been, triggered by someone buying his old TS50 and putting CEO-220 plates on it. Original two local bosses were Managing Directors. Last few have been titled "President and CEO", but that leaves a lot in the middle!

[Syndrome]

Robert Graziano - the man sent by Dearborn to make sure the Falcon was killed off. Not once was the EcoLPi advertised while he was in charge. That engine could have save the Falcon.

[simon varley]

no, it is only ever a stepping stone to something bigger.

[Trevor 57]

Wasn't Edsel Ford in the mix when they released the XD?. I know his son, Henry Ford 3rd was born in Melbourne in 1980 coz him and his wife Cynthia were at the same pre-natal 'huff and puff' classes as us

[barra240t]

Geoff Polites was an absolute legend, wish he served all the years.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Wasn't Edsel Ford in the mix when they released the XD?. I know his son, Henry Ford 3rd was born in Melbourne in 1980 coz him and his wife Cynthia were at the same pre-natal 'huff and puff' classes as us

Yeah he was. Or around that time at least. He did come up with the idea for XC Cobra.

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Musical CEOs - come in, collect bank for making ****ty decisions and then leaving when everything is on fire.

When you get C level executives doing short terms they have zero interest in putting in the hard yards to fix issues.

You work there, what's your opinion, how many of the names on that list were worth the money they got paid and which ones should be in the Centrelink queue?

From Polites down they were all great. Osbourne who knows what the story was there, he was only on board for maybe 6 months tops before he quit. Would love to hear the back story of that. Gorman was rubbish too imo.

Burela tried hard, his heart was in it being a local boy, but at that point he would have been banging his head against a brick wall. I hated Graziano with a passion cause I suspect he was sent here on a mission to cripple Falcon and kill it off.

The others after him I thought did pretty good jobs.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Gorman was rubbish too imo.

Wasn't he the moron who cancelled Territory Diesel early on in the game?

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Wasn't he the moron who cancelled Territory Diesel early on in the game?

Possibly. The time frame would fit.

[stock1991]

He wasn't a president of Ford Australia but I heard a story about one of the Ford's coming to Melbourne in the 60's or 70's and basically driving around Toorak until he saw a house he liked, knocked on the front door and said I want to buy your house. Basically he paid cash and moved in within a week. No idea if it's true but made a good story

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Wasn't he the moron who cancelled Territory Diesel early on in the game?

Yes, the diesel Territory was cancelled under his watch. Geoff Polites was quoted before his passing that he was furious over that decision.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Yes, the diesel Territory was cancelled under his watch. Geoff Polites was quoted before his passing that he was furious over that decision.

Apparently on returning to Australia for a funeral things got a little heated at the wake where the diesel Terry cancellation was brought up.

I have to confess to something, there was one month in 2003 when BA overtook the Commodore for sales and I was driving in Brighton and stopped at the intersection with Nepean Highway. I suddenly noticed to my right the passenger sitting in lhs front seat of a Caprice was none other than Peter Hanenberger, Holden's Chair and MD....I reached across the seat and grabbed a newspaper article I had just read with pride.. and held it up against my window so he could see the headline....I think he retired at the end of that year as well.
Then that weekend my golden retriever almost tripped up a man jogging along the beach...it was GP...how's that for a double...

https://www.theage.com.au/national/f...04-gdwh1u.html

Falcon outsells Commodore
October 4, 2003 — 12.54am


A year after its launch, Ford's BA Falcon has knocked the Holden Commodore off its perch.

According to the official sales figures for September, the Falcon finally outsold its Holden rival.

The result ended the Commodore's reign of more than 70 straight months as Australia's top selling car.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said Ford sold 7,409 Falcons last month, just 48 more than the 7,361 Commodore's retailed by Holden.

However, on a year-to-date-basis, the Commodore was still clearly ahead, 64,906 compared to 55,489.

Ford President Geoff Polites said it was the best Falcon result since March, 1996 and a 100 per cent improvement on Falcon sales from September, 2002.

"One year after launch, the BA Falcon was September's biggest selling car in Australia," Mr Polites said.

"That excellent result is validation of the hard work by everyone at Ford to deliver a car the Australian market wanted."

[FTE217]

Here's a summary by W.
I'm surprised no GP in the top 10 but like I said that their decision.
https://www.whichcar.com.au/features...ord-falcon-fly

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by FTE217

Here's a summary by W.
I'm surprised no GP in the top 10 but like I said that their decision.
https://www.whichcar.com.au/features...ord-falcon-fly

He should have been in the top 10, in fact I would have booted Bill Ford off that list to make sure he got a proper mention.

While I can understand his inclusion, Bill Ford only did what he did so that he could please the shareholders, nothing more and nothing less.

Geoff Polites on the other hand made the Falcon desirable again. If BA didn't fire the way it did, I doubt that FG would have happened. Geoff gave the Ford faithful what they wanted, be that the power, be that styling, be that wild colours, be that success on the racetrack again. He made sure that the Falcon was a car that people wanted and could be proud they owned.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Geoff Polites on the other hand made the Falcon desirable again. If BA didn't fire the way it did, I doubt that FG would have happened. Geoff gave the Ford faithful what they wanted, be that the power, be that styling, be that wild colours, be that success on the racetrack again. He made sure that the Falcon was a car that people wanted and could be proud they owned.

Geoff was the right man for the job after the AU debacle. He knew the customer and knew the product they wanted. After he was moved it was all downhill for the Falcon.