Executive Chairman Bill Ford Wears Many Hats, Including ‘Car Guy’ And ‘Environmentalist’

Holding the title of Executive Chair at Ford Motor Company, plus the less-formal title of Henry Ford’s Great Grandson, could weigh heavily on a man’s shoulders. But Willian Clay Ford, better known as Bill Ford, carries both titles, along with labels like car enthusiast, outdoorsman, black belt, and even environmentalist, without hesitation. Mr. Ford does all this while shepherding Ford Motor Company through the most turbulent decade in the history of the automobile.

In the midst of ever-tightening regulations requiring increased EV production and sales, along with rising material costs that are slashing EV profits, Ford continues to charge full-speed ahead with its aggressive electric vehicle plan. Like every global automaker, Ford is struggling to produce vehicles (conventional and electric) to meet consumer demand as supply chain issues plague the industry. But Bill Ford isn’t blinking in the face of these challenges. “It’s the most fun time in my career. We’re going for it, in a way we haven’t ever done in my working lifetime.”

As a follow up to my interview with Ford President Jim Farley, this is my interview with Bill Ford, where I learn what it was like being an automotive environmentalist decades before EVs were cool, what he’d do differently if he could go back 20 years, and what changed his initial “over my dead body” reaction to calling an electric SUV a Mustang.