Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford (second from left), with CEO Alan Mulally, COO Mark Fields, North America chief Joe Hinrichs, and product development chief Raj Nair at the 2015 F-150 unveiling in Detroit's Joe Louis Arena on Jan. 13, 2014. All five Ford executives played a role in the carefully choreographed presentation. Photo credit: Ford Motor Company.
When an automaker like Ford (F 0.66%) introduces a product like the all-new 2015 F-150 pickup to the media, it doesn't just pull a sheet off the truck and say, "Here it is, guys!"
In fact, earlier this month, Ford took over Joe Louis Arena -- home of the Detroit Red Wings -- to unveil its new pickups with an elaborate, big-budget presentation that kicked off two days of media events at the North American International Auto Show.
We (The Motley Fool's John Rosevear and Rex Moore) were there when it happened, and we can tell you that it was a very impressive event. Not so much for the theatrics of the truck's unveiling -- although that was fun -- but because Ford managed to present a complete state of the company update in less than half an hour.
Several of Ford's top executives were there, and each made a brief presentation. Below, you can see the first of those presentations, starring Executive Chairman Bill Ford. Ford's role was to give the top-level overview and to set the stage for the presentations by CEO Alan Mulally and others who followed.
Bill Ford doesn't speak in public quite as often as other Ford executives, but when he does, it's worth listening. If you're a Ford shareholder or customer, you'll find this high-level, visionary overview by Ford's executive chairman (and Henry Ford's great-grandson) to be quite interesting. Check it out, and then scroll down to leave a comment with your thoughts.
