[2b2]

www.businessspectator.com.au - Ford Australia boss resigns

photo from Media.Ford.com
Ford Australia took another hit when its president Bill Osborne resigned soon after the announcement that 350 jobs would be lost at Victorian plants.

Mr Osborne has been in the job for only six months but has worked at Ford Motor Company for 18 years in engineering and executive roles.

He will relocate to America to take up a chief executive position for an independently-owned publicly listed company, Ford spokeswoman Sinead McAlary said.

She said the timing of the two events were unrelated.

"He has received an offer that fulfills a career dream for him," Ms McAlary said.

She would not say which company Mr Osborne was joining but said it was outside the automotive industry...


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according to other articles, Mr. Mulally was already scheduled for a visit to Australia next week
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for local commentary:
www.FordAustraliaForums.com - Bill Osborne to resign

 

[mchicha]

Another CEO leaves Ford: Top Canadian exec quits

Another CEO leaves Ford: Top Canadian exec quits
Posted Aug 23rd 2008 10:45AM by Jeremy Korzeniewski
Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Ford, Canada

Bill Osborne, up until yesterday the President of Ford Australia, is not the only non-U.S. Ford exec taking a walk from his responsibilities at the Blue Oval. Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd head-honcho Barry Engle (above) has also chosen to leave the company on the exact same day. The coincidences don't end there, as both men took their respective positions just six months ago in February of this year. While we're not yet sure what role Osborne will be stepping into, his counterpart from Canada is headed to Pennsylvania, his home state, to join New Holland Agricultural Equipment SpA as president and CEO. New Holland is a unit of CNH Global NV -- itself controlled by Italian automaker Fiat.

As we said regarding the open position in Australia: "Ford has not announced a replacement, but the new boss will have his or her work cut out as the Australian market adjusts from its high-horsepower diet to more fuel efficient vehicles." Yeah... that's been going around.

[Source: The Globe and Mail]

somethings up, or perhaps its just coincidence?