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Ford Group Vice President Named Hispanic Engineer of the Year

12 October 2000

Ford Group Vice President Named Hispanic Engineer of the Year

    EL PASO, Texas, Oct. 12 James J. Padilla, group vice
president, Global Manufacturing for Ford Motor Company , has been
selected to receive the national Hispanic Engineer of the Year Award.
    The award is the top honor granted at the Hispanic Engineer National
Achievement Awards Conference, to be held at the El Paso Marriott and
Convention Center in El Paso, Texas on Oct. 12-14, 2000.  The conference
recognizes and honors America's successful Hispanic engineers, scientists and
technology leaders.
    As one of Ford Motor Company's top operating executives, Padilla is
responsible for vehicle production at more than 110 plants in 25 countries and
oversees close to 80% of approximately 335,000 people employed by Ford
worldwide.
    He joined the Company in 1966 as a co-op student in Quality Control
Engineering.  Beginning in 1976, he assumed a series of management positions
in Product Engineering and Manufacturing.
    In 1992, he was appointed director of Engineering and Manufacturing for
Jaguar Cars, Ltd.  His leadership is credited with turning around operations
of the legendary vehicle line, which had suffered from quality problems, low
production and sagging sales.  Prior to his most recent appointment, he served
for two years as president of Ford South America Operations, where he was
responsible for restructuring the Company's operations after the breakup of
Autolatina.
    As a passionate advocate for the Hispanic community, Padilla today serves
as champion of the Ford Hispanic Network Group.  He also is a member of the
Board of Trustees at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he sponsors the
Mexican-American Partnership between UDM and Monterey Technical University in
Monterey, Mexico.
    He and his wife, Alice, live in the Detroit area.  They have three
children and two grandsons.