Ford Executive Reitzle Quits Car World

Ford Motor Co said in a statement on Friday that Mark Fields would step down as president of its Japanese affiliate Mazda Motor Corp to become the new head of Ford's Premier Automotive Group. Fields will replace outgoing Wolfgang Reitzle who is leaving to join German industrial gas and engineering group Linde as its new chief executive officer.

Reitzle, the highly regarded and well-groomed Ford executive, has bid farewell to a glamorous past in the world of cars, surprising observers by taking the helm at conservative German gas and engineering group Linde.

Ford and Linde both issued statements announcing Reitzle's move on Friday.

Speculation had been mounting that Reitzle would change jobs after three years running Ford's luxury Premier Automotive Group, amid rumours he could not agree on his reporting lines at the world's second-biggest carmaker.

The stellar Bavarian manager took over as Chairman and CEO of Ford's PAG, which includes the Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lincoln, Land Rover and Volvo brands, in 1999 after departing from BMW BMWG.DE over the Munich-based company's mismanaged UK Rover acquisition.

Analysts praised the way Reitzle has integrated Ford's luxury brands under one umbrella and revived the European brands, presiding over a series of product launches. Lincoln remains the fly in the ointment.

"He has been seen to have done a very good job at Ford and I am sure they will be sorry to lose him," said a London-based analyst, who argued that he laid solid foundations for his successor to build on.

As Ford's fortunes worsened in recent months, Reitzle came under increasing pressure to perform. PAG was told it had to account for a third of Ford's profits by the middle of the decade despite lower investment.

Tensions over the ailing Lincoln brand surfaced. Reitzle had his plans to spend around $2 billion to revive the ailing Lincoln brand curtailed due to Ford's domestic difficulties.

"It will be more difficult (to revive Lincoln) now, but it can be done in smaller steps," he told Reuters in an interview last month. "We have to build up the products with less investment."

Also on Friday, Ford said the Lincoln and Mercury brands would be shifted from the PAG to the company's North American consumer business unit. The company said the president of Ford's Mazda affiliate, Mark Fields, would take over for Reitzle.

Electrifying

A former colleague characterised Reitzle, 53, as "electrifying" to work with, someone who is respected more than loved by his colleagues.

"He is someone who cannot walk slowly, he is always on the move," said the former colleague. "He wants to take people with him but sometimes the pressure shows -- he is temperamental."

The immaculately turned-out manager whose neat moustache gives him a striking resemblance to Hollywood legend Errol Flynn, built his reputation at German luxury carmaker BMW AG, and was once tipped to take over as CEO of the Munich company after Bernd Pischetsrieder, who also left due to the Rover episode.

Pischetsrieder this week took over as Chief Executive of Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen.

Reitzle says that even as a small child he was fascinated by cars. He studied mechanical engineering at Munich Technical University from where he gained a Doctorate in Engineering. He joined BMW in 1976 and rose through the ranks before becoming board member responsible for research and development in 1987. Sales and marketing were later added to his portfolio.

"There is still an affinity with BMW - he always shows up at his old stand at auto shows," said a former colleague. I don't think it was an easy decision for him to leave."

Immaculate

"Outward appearances are very important to him - his clothes and shoes are immaculate," said the former colleague.

He is a keen golfer and expert skier, said former colleagues and he recently married German TV presenter Nina Ruge, his second wife.

However, his experience in the premium car segment will not help him too much at the world's biggest maker of fork lift trucks and the world's fourth-largest gas producer, Linde.

"It seems a strange fit," said one German-based analyst.

Linde supervisory board chief Hans Meinhardt tried a few years ago to get Reitzle on board, but the Bavarian chose Ford instead.

Reitzle describes himself as having a straight-forward leadership style and thriving on challenges and driven by excellence.

In a statement, Reitzle said his new position represented a "great challenge".

"He is very ambitious and likes to achieve the tasks he has set himself," said the former colleague.