Former Ford Chairman Poling Dies

Harold "Red" Poling, retired chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Co., who led the company through two U.S. recessions, died on Saturday in Pacific Grove, Calif. He was 86.

Poling started at Ford as an intern while earning a masters degree in business administration at Indiana University. After graduating, he joined the company fulltime in 1951 as a cost analysis at Ford's steel unit.

Poling worked his way up through a series of financial jobs. In the early 1970s, his mentor, the legendary Ford CFO Ed Lundy, recommended him for a finance job at the company's European operations. Poling became president of Ford of Europe in 1975 and chairman two years later. He was appointed to Ford's board of directors in 1979.

Poling took charge of the company's faltering North American unit in 1980. Described as a "hatchet man" at the time, he is widely credited with turning that operation around in the following years. Poling cut $2.5 billion from the regional budget through plant closings and the elimination of middle management jobs.

Former colleagues remember Poling as an affable executive with a relentless focus on cost cutting. But he earns praise for approving a $3 billion program to develop the Taurus midsize sedan. "We bet the company," Poling said. The Taurus, which debuted in 1985, went on to become America's best-selling car.

His North American success led to Poling's promotion to Ford president and chief operating officer in 1985 and vice chairman in 1987. Poling was named CEO and chairman in March 1990 as the American economy was about to slump again. He retired at the end of 1993.