In 1964, a young Jim O’Connor started scheduling vehicle deliveries at a Lincoln-Mercury sales office in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the same year Ford introduced the Mustang. He couldn’t have known it then, but he was at the start of a 40-year run that would take him through nearly every corner of Ford’s sales and marketing operation, two countries, and countless dealer showrooms. Along the way, O’Connor built a reputation as one of the most trusted, and liked executives in the auto industry, the kind of leader who could sell you on anything because he believed in it and always had a story to back it up.
O’Connor, who retired from the company in 2004 after 40 years with Ford, died early Friday morning, Sept. 25, at age 83, according to his family.
“For 40 years, Jim was a steady, guiding and encouraging presence across nearly every part of our sales and marketing organization,” said Andrew Frick, president, Ford Blue and Model e.
“It will be hard to imagine a Ford Motor Company without Jim. He’ll always be remembered for his professionalism, as well as his terrific sense of humor, and ability to tell a good story.”Bill Ford, executive chair, Ford Motor Company
Frick said he first met O’Connor when he was a student at Villanova University when O’Connor spoke to Frick’s marketing class. He said he really got to know O’Connor when he worked in Variable Marketing. He said O’Connor demonstrated the power of a close working relationship with dealers built on trust, which led to decisions that were mutually beneficial for the company and dealers.
“Ford and Lincoln dealers across North America knew they always had an advocate in Jim,” Frick said. “He had a gift for building relationships with dealers, employees, and really anyone who crossed his path. He did it with warmth, humor and an unmatched ability to tell a story! Jim helped shape Ford in ways that are still felt today. He was Ford through and through. On behalf of his Ford family, we send our deepest condolences to his family.”
A September 1999 WardsAuto profile described O’Connor’s habit of dropping into dealerships without ceremony. He would talk with technicians about quality and used car staff about local demand.
“I’ll walk in the back door, and talk to the prep people and service technicians about quality, or talk to the used-car people about what’s selling well in their market,” O’Connor told WardsAuto. “They’ll say, ‘Who are you?’ I’ll just say, ‘I’m from Ford.’”
O’Connor’s stellar career at Ford lasted longer than he had originally intended after initially postponing his retirement.
“Jim has stayed longer than he planned at my request, and for that, the Ford Motor Company will always be indebted to him,” Bill Ford, who was then Executive Chair and CEO, said in a news release announcing O’Connor’s retirement in September 2004. “It will be hard to imagine a Ford Motor Company without Jim. He’ll always be remembered for his professionalism, as well as his terrific sense of humor, and ability to tell a good story.”
O’Connor led the company’s Marketing, Sales and Service department for many years and Ford praised him as “one of our company’s most valuable ambassadors,” in the 2004 announcement.
“We’ll miss him, as will the many Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers who have counted on his support,” Ford said.
O’Connor retired as group vice president, North America, Marketing, Sales and Service, a position he took in 2002. In that role, he was responsible for Ford, what was then Lincoln-Mercury, Ford Customer Service Division, Dealer Development, Ford Performance Group, Global Marketing and export markets.
Prior to this role, O’Connor had served as company vice president and president of the Ford Division, responsible for marketing, sales and distribution of all Ford-branded cars and trucks, beginning in 1998. O’Connor also served as a company vice president and president of the Lincoln-Mercury Division for two years prior.
O’Connor, a New York City native, once served as grand marshal of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. His time with the company also included two stints with Ford of Canada in the 1980s and ’90s, the first as vice president, Sales and Marketing, and then again as president and Chief Operating Officer before becoming president and CEO of Ford of Canada in 1992.
O’Connor’s leadership left a lasting impression north of the border, as well.
“Jim was an important part of Ford of Canada’s history, said Bev Goodman, president and CEO, Ford of Canada. “His leadership shaped our business, but it’s the way he treated people – our employees and dealers – that is still talked about all these years later.”
Said Deep is the communications director at Ford North America
