史上10大最差车企掌门人盘点

    当下，来自汽车行业的CEO几乎都是声名远扬。但是，业内人士担心，当代企业领袖正在形成一种个人崇拜。通用汽车（General Motors）的丹•阿克森发现，每次他参与慈善活动，总能上报纸；因为让吉普车得以神奇复苏，菲亚特-克莱斯勒（Fiat-Chrysler）的塞尔吉奥•马尔奇奥尼成了业内最新的奇迹创造者；因为给汽车制造商带来了历史性转变而获得肯定，福特汽车（Ford）的艾伦•穆拉利几乎被视为神一样的人物。

    只要赞扬能促使美好事物的出现，个人崇拜就是有效的。但是形势的逆转也是残忍的。由于未能实现对电动汽车的预期，雷诺日产（Renault-Nissan）卡洛斯•卡恩的声誉大打折扣。制定接班人计划时，把企业领袖当作神话会产生不良影响。谁想追随一个英雄？正面回答的人寥寥无几。表现优异的CEO常常得益于经济周期的幸运转变，而在他们离职时经济周期往往朝相反的方向发展。

    虽然高级管理层中拥有一名大牌CEO看似不错，可一旦CEO表现糟糕，后果就是伤不起。在所有行业中，汽车行业管理层犯错后导致的后果最为严重。巨额的资本投资意味着损失轻易就能达到数十亿美元，而产品周期长意味着一个错误的转变就会让公司陷入长达数年的困境。

    根据以上分析，笔者列出了史上十大最差的车企CEO。

    There are no faceless CEOs in the auto industry today. On the contrary: People in the car business worry about a cult of personality developing around the current generation of company leaders. General Motors' Dan Akerson finds himself in the newspaper whenever he supports a charity; Fiat-Chrysler's Sergio Marchionne has become the industry's latest miracle worker due to his surprising revival at the home of Jeep; and Ford's Alan Mulally has been accorded near God-like status in recognition of his automaker's historic turnaround.

    Personality cults work as long as good things keep happening for the object of adulation, but downturns can be brutal. Look at what's happened to the reputation of Renault-Nissan's Carlos Ghosn since his EV forecast fell short. Mythologizing a leader can also take a toll when it comes to developing a succession plan. Who wants to follow a hero? There isn't much room on the upside. High-performing CEOs often have the benefit of fortunate turns in the economic cycle that twist in the opposite direction once they leave office.

    But having a big guy at the top is scant price to pay when you consider the wreckage that a bad CEO can inflict. Management mistakes in the auto industry are more painful than almost anywhere else. Enormous capital investments mean that losses can easily reach billions of dollars, and long product cycles mean that a wrong turn can hobble a company for a number of years.

    With that in mind, here's my list of the worst CEOs in the history of the auto industry:

1. 亨利•福特

福特汽车公司总裁

1903－1918年，1943－1945年

    福特是一位聪明的发明家，但同时也是一位可怕的CEO。他从不相信会计人员，所以他始终不清楚公司具体的赢利或损失金额。他过于固执，虽然T型车的销售在20世纪20年代已经开始下降，但他仍然拒绝改变T型车的款式。最后，当他同意引入A型车时，公司停产了17个月才做好准备。通用汽车（《财富》500强企业）每年对设计进行更新，而且年销售额超过福特（《财富》500强企业），此后也很少失去领先地位。1943年，福特的儿子艾德索过世后，他重掌公司总裁职位。但是在公司状况日益不稳定的情况下，为了支持他的孙子亨利二世，他最终被迫下台。

1. Henry Ford

President, Ford Motor Co.

1903-1918, 1943-1945

    A brilliant inventor, Ford was a terrible CEO. He never believed in accountants, so he never knew how much his company was making -- or losing. Stubborn to a fault, he refused to make styling changes in the Model T as its sales wound down in the mid-'20s. When he finally agreed to introduce the Model A, he shut down production for 17 months to get ready.General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), which had already started annual design updates, passed Ford (F, Fortune 500) in annual sales and has seldom relinquished its lead since then. After the death of his son, Edsel, in 1943, Ford reclaimed the title of president, but increasingly unstable, he was forced from office in favor his grandson, Henry II.