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How Henry Ford managed the Ford Motor Company into a second successful era

Henry Ford II is the grandson of Henry Ford, the man who founded the Ford Motor Company. The car manufacturing company was already deteriorating when it was passed on to him but he was able to turn things around.

He worked and served different positions in the company and headed the company in 1943 after the unexpected death of his grandfather.

He tried different approaches to help the company prosper by investing in public stock and building new designs. Ford became the second biggest industrial corporation worldwide under his leadership.

Henry Ford II's Get-Rich Formula

Henry Ford II graduated at Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut in 1936 then took up sociology at Yale University. In 1940, although still lacking credits, he left Yale to marry and work at the Ford Motor Company.

He then joined the Navy in 1941 but was deactivated by President Roosevelt to help the deteriorating company of his grandfather, Henry Ford. He unexpectedly took over after his grandfather died in 1943.

He became President in 1945, a time when Ford Motor Company was experiencing great turmoil due to the effects of World War II. He did a lot of changes for the company by firing and hiring officers and personnel who helped put the corporation back on its feet. Innovative design and effective management style were the core of the rise of the industrial corporation.

There were also some decisions by Ford II that made and lost money to the company like investments in public stock and personal disputes. Overall, he stabilized Ford Motor Company when it was declining and retired from presidency in 1960. He continued to serve as chairman and CEO until 1980 finally leaving the fourth biggest industrial corporation in the world.

The Henry Ford II Quick Bio

Full name: Henry Ford II
Birth date: September 4, 1917
Birth place: Detroit, Michigan
Company: Ford Motor Company
Industry: Engineering and Transportation
Key success traits: quick learner, aggressive manager

Additional:
Henry Ford II served in the National Alliance for Businessmen and the United Nations as chairman and alternate delegate, respectively. Ford II was utterly concerned about employment, civil rights and the environment.

Henry Ford II's nephew, William Clay Ford, Jr. took over and became chairman and CEO after his death in 1987. His younger brother, William Clay Ford, Sr. represented the family assets.

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