Harold Arthur "Red" Poling (October 14, 1925 – May 12, 2012) was a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

automobile businessman.

Early life

Harold Arthur Poling was born in

Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Me ...

, but grew up in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

. Poling graduated from

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a ...

in 1949. He earned his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

Personal life

Poling married Marian Lee in 1957. He had three children: Pamela, Kathryn, and Douglas. Poling was an avid and accomplished golfer.

Career

Poling served as a fighter pilot in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. His sometime corporate rival, Robert Lutz, had been a fighter pilot in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Their clashes sometimes led subordinates to joke about "who won the

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

today?" Poling started at

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

as an intern, while still attending Indiana University. After school, he took a job in 1951 as a cost analyst at Ford's Steel Division. Poling made his swift climb through the company as a financial executive, serving as a manager, assistant controller, and controller of the transmission and chassis division during the 1960s, then as controller of the engine division, then controller of the car product development group. During this time he was responsible for codification of much of Ford's "Finance Manual", directing his subordinates in standardization of the company's financial reporting and analysis practices. During the mid-1970s he worked in Ford's European Operations. In the late 1970s he was vice-president of corporate staffs, then in 1980 replaced William O. Bourke as executive vice-president of North American Automotive Operations (the company's biggest operating unit). The company was in cash and cost trouble, and Bourke refused to make some of the cost cuts that chairman

Philip Caldwell Philip Caldwell (January 27, 1920 – July 10, 2013) was the first person to run the Ford Motor Company (after John S. Gray) who was not a member of the Ford family. He orchestrated one of the most dramatically successful turnarounds in busin ...

thought necessary. Poling was never averse to cutting cost and succeeded in returning the unit to profitability. He was often cited as the man that saved Ford Motor Company in the 80's. He served as the president of the Ford Motor Company between February 1, 1985 and October 13, 1987, when he took the role of second vice chairman alongside current vice chairman

William Clay Ford Jr. William Clay Ford Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American businessman, serving as executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. The great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, Ford joined the board in 1988 and has served as chairman since January 19 ...

He became the CEO and chairman on March 1, 1990 and remained in that role until 1993. He made his mark at Ford's European Operations in the late 1970s and was widely considered as a savior of the company in his stint as executive vice-president for North America in the early 1980s.

Death

He died at the age of 86 on May 12, 2012 at his home in

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey. Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, s ...

Awards and honors

In 1993, Poling was awarded the Lone Sailor Award by the

U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation The United States Navy Memorial is a memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring those who have served or are currently serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marine. It lies on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 7th Street ...

for his naval career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poling, Harold A. 1925 births 2012 deaths People from Troy, Michigan Monmouth College alumni Indiana University alumni American manufacturing businesspeople Chief executives in the automobile industry Ford executives United States Naval Aviators