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Business

but a company with its own image
that produces cars people want and is
the envy of others - and increases sales
and market share along the way."
The restructuring includes reducing
the manufacturing capacity by a quar-
ter, and moving some of that output
to a European plant. A series of cost-
cutting measures includes eliminating
about 1,800 jobs this year (9 percent
of the work force) through voluntary
retirements. This was caused by an
operating loss of $44 million through
last Sept. 30, the first half of Mazda's
fiscal year, and a predicted net loss of
$458 million by the March 31 end of
the fiscal year, largely due to currency
fluctuations.
"All of these steps are necessary to
ensure the future success of the com-
pany," says Fields. "We have a renewed
sense of urgency, and we are projecting
reasonable growth and profitability."
Unlike American CEOs, Fields has
spartan residential quarters in
Hiroshima, which is nicknamed "the
Iowa of Japan." The family lives in an
apartment with 1,600 square feet near
the office, shunning extra security.
Jane is active in the International
Women's Club, and their young sons
are just getting into school in the
community of about 65 American
families.
"I try to go home early every day to
play with the boys and read books to
them at bedtime, before I delve into
my own homework," he said.
Fields travels to the U.S. for meet-
ings at least four times a year and
tours most of the international auto
shows, bringing his exercise weights on
the road with him.
On weekends, the family does a lot
of hiking around town and visits the
monuments, Peace Park and Eternal
Making Changes
Flame dedicated to the thousands who
Fields doesn't speak Japanese — only
lost their lives in 1945 when the U.S.
restaurant-fluent — and with 99
dropped an atomic bomb on the city
percent of the company meetings
to end World War II. "On the surface,
conducted in Japanese he needs
there doesn't seem to be any resent-
translation, which makes the meet-
ment by the Japanese towards
ings twice as long. "And even the
Americans, but it's really hard for a
best translator is only 75 percent
Westerner to understand the situa-
accurate," he says.
tion," Fields says.
Fields has been responding by
His parents visited the family when
implementing a number of changes,
they lived in Argentina, but have not
many based on his strong marketing
made it to Japan. They breach the
and sales ideas. He regularly visits the
global gap with letters and packages
Mazda offices and plants in Japan, giv-
containing the Jewish holiday items.
ing pep talks to employees and having
Fields is completely focused on his job
lunch with the foremen to obtain
now and his efforts to keep Mazda
feedback. As a strong believer in the
competitive in the tough worldwide
merit system, he points out, "it's not
market. His next assignment probably
about age or gender, but about the
will be back in the U.S. "where it will
results a person can produce.
be easier to raise the kids and teach
"The Mazda I envision is not a
them some Jewishness."
company boasting huge size or profits,

tion is Jewish), then managing director
a year later when his predecessor took
ill. In two years, he helped turn the
affiliate around from a $100 million
loss to a $2 million profit.
He looks back proudly: "Ford was
just splitting up from its alliance with
Volkswagen, called Autolatina JV. We
were bleeding red ink, and the morale
was terrible. We helped restore prof-
itability, significantly improve morale,
and we got the employees to re-
embrace being part of Ford again."
After that, it was off to Hiroshima for
several top posts at Mazda, leading up
to executive vice president and assis-
tant to the president by Dec. 1, 1999.
Only a few weeks later, the president
retired unexpectedly because of ill
health and Fields became president
and CEO.
"You must be joking," was the
response of Fields' wife, Jane, when he
told her of the promotion. She had
met him in Atlanta during his IBM
days. "Jane just laughed and refused to
believe me," Fields mused. "It was so
soon after my previous promotion.
But she quickly got used to it." They
have two sons, Zachary, 6, and Max,
4.
Fields is overcoming several obsta-
cles as the young Mazda chief. The
news media chided him because of his
age, and employees find it difficult to
respond to a "young foreigner" as their
leader. "And then there's the element
of surprise when they find out I'm
Jewish," he says. "There are all kinds
of religions in Japan ... Shintoism,
Buddhism and other forms of
Christianity, but there certainly are
few Jews in Japan. But I've never expe-
rienced any anti-Semitism either."

