AUTO

Mervyn Manning, vice
president of Latin
American Automotive
Operations at Ford Motor
Co., travels the world as
an automotive executive.

Section Editor

f it's Tuesday, it must be
Latin America, accord-
ing to Mervyn Mann-
ing's schedule. As vice
president for Latin
American Automotive Opera-
tions at Ford Motor Company,
Mr. Manning has a schedule
this year already filled with
overseas business trips.
"I travel 40 to 50 percent
of time," said Mr. Manning.
His 1992 monthly planner
confirms this with almost
two weeks out of every mon-
th indicating a business trip
abroad, mainly to
Venezuela, Brazil and
Argentina.
Traveling and overseas
assignments are just one
facet in climbing the
automotive executive
ladder. He offers no secrets
on how to succeed, just com-
mon sense. "With great
difficulty and hard work,"
he said. "If you stick to it
and work hard, you have an
opportunity to succeed. It's
not any different than with
any other company."
But Ford Motor Co. is not
just any other company. It's
not a neighborhood business,
the well-respected law firm
or the national drugstore
chain. This is the world's se-
cond largest automotive
corporation — a mega com-
pany with global power. The
executives who run this
company make decisions
that affect the international
market.
These decisions are often
played out in the 12th floor

I

A8

FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992

boardroom of the Glass
House — the trade name for
the world headquarters of-
fice building • in Dearborn
where Michigan Avenue
meets the Southfield
Freeway just east of
Fairlane Mall. Indeed, the
12th floor of the Glass House
is different from the rest of
the building. The carpeting
is plusher; the wood is richer
and visitors are buzzed in
through two large glass
doors.
Mery Manning's office is
next door to the office of
William Clay Ford. It ap-
pears like any successful ex-
ecutive's office with a large
wood desk, conference table
and chairs, and a coffee table
between two couches. Mr.
Manning, age 59, is seated
behind the conference table.
He dresses like a company
man with the blue pin-stripe
shirt and the Ford logo gold
cuff links. He speaks like a
company man when he
discusses how he is a team
player and why he chose to
work at Ford.
"Ford was a very attrac-
tive place to work. They
were able to attract highly
qualified graduates from the
best schools," said Mr. Man-
ning, who chose Ford over
the glamour of Wall Street.
Of course, Ford was always a
strong contender since Mr.
Manning and his wife are
native Detroiters, and he
worked at Ford as a college
student during the
summers.
Chrysler President Lee
Iacocca mentions in his
biography how Henry Ford

II hired dozens of Harvard
Business School graduates
to direct the finances of the
company. Mr. Manning
became part of the team
with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in business ad-
ministration from the Uni-
versity of Michigan in 1954
and a master's degree from

the Harvard Business School
in 1956.
Mr. Manning began his ca-
reer with Ford in August
1956 and held various
management positions in
the domestic car company.
In 1967 he was named con-
troller for Ford Tractor
Operations. It was a major

.

Photos by Glen n Triest

CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ

Mr. Manning behind his
desk at the Ford World
Headquarters in
Dearborn.

