Ford Executive Joe Hinrichs Is a Troubleshooter with a Human Touch
When he was thirty years old, Joe Hinrichs was regarded as a boy wonder in automobile manufacturing. Less than twenty years later, he became the executive VP and president, The Americas, Ford Motor Company, placing him in charge of a business that generates 70 percent of the company’s business. Much of his career has involved taking the leadership of difficult manufacturing problems. This includes getting the vehicles critical to Ford’s future out the door without any glitches.
Hinrichs joined Ford in 2000 as a plant manager at a transmission plant, after holding positions at GM and the investment firm, Ryan Enterprises Group. He has had a variety of roles at Ford including president and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Canada, group VP, Global Manufacturing and labor Affairs, and group VP and president of Asia Pacific and Africa.
In 2007, Hinrichs was placed in charge of global manufacturing, with the key assignment of integrating Ford’s 104 factories across the world. At the same time, he was expected to accelerate the pace of Ford’s globalization efforts. As GM youngest plant manager at age twenty-nine Hinrichs facilitated a turnaround of an inefficient GM Powertrain manufacturing facility in Fredericksburg, VA. His approach was so innovative that it became the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.
In December 2012, Hinrichs returned to Dearborn, Michigan, to become president of Ford America’s most profitable business unit. During his tenure in that assignment, Ford America attained record profits. Hinrich has also been placed in charge of the manufacture of vehicles that were experiencing glitches during their product launches—the Lincoln MKZ, and Ford Escape, and the Ford Fusion. Hinrich was given responsibility also for leading an effort to fix the MyFord Touch infotainment system.
Hinrichs was once visiting a Ford assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky where he pored over an early production version of the Lincoln MKC sports utility vehicle with a team responsible for its release. He carefully examined the hatchback on the SUV. The complex shape of the opening presented a challenge in aligning the door. Hinrichs suggested, "We knew this would was going to be hard to do going in. But we have to get it right." The same day he told the chief engineer that he would like to see a small light in the cubby that enabled phone chargers to be plugged in.
In terms of his approach to people, Hinrichs is perceived to have a small-town, Midwestern style. A Ford dealer said that Hinrichs "has a common touch and a lot of the qualities Alan [Alan Mulally, the legendary former CEO of Ford] possesses. He seems very dedicated to Ford."
In 2016, Hinrichs accepted the position of Chairman of National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSCD). The organization advances business opportunities for certified minority business enterprises and connects them to corporate members. NMSCD is committed to advancing Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American suppliers in an international supply chain.
Hinrichs earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Dayton, and MBA from Harvard Business School as a GM Fellow.
What evidence do you see that Hinrichs emphasizes consideration (or humanistic) in his approach to leadership?