“A guy you want in a foxhole with you.”<br />“He’s not just a futurist, he’s a very good operative executive,” said William<br />Ford Jr., right, introducing Jim Hackett, the automaker’s new chief executive.<br />“He had a lot of respect for Bo, and a lot of people in Michigan connected to that,” said James P.<br />Keane, who worked with Mr. Hackett for 17 years at Steelcase and succeeded him as chief executive.<br />“Without Jim Hackett, there’s no Jim Harbaugh,” said John U. Bacon, author of best-selling books on Michigan football.<br />He’s a very good operating executive.”<br />Mr. Hackett has said those qualities stem from his days as an offensive lineman on Michigan football teams in the 1970s<br />and the influence of the team’s renowned coach, Bo Schembechler.<br />In February 2016, Ford directors visited several Silicon Valley companies, and Mr. Ford was impressed by how many executives knew Mr. Hackett well.<br />On Monday, Ford announced Mr. Hackett, 62, as its chief executive, saying he would<br />be able to reshape the company to compete in the next generation of automobiles.
