Mark Fields (1961)

Mark Fields (born c. 1961) is an American business executive. He is Executive Vice President and President of The Americas for Ford Motor Company. As Ford's President of the Americas, Fields was tapped to develop "The Way Forward" plan. He reports to Alan Mulally, the company's CEO.

Early life, education, and family
Fields was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in Paramus, New Jersey, where he attended Paramus High School, graduating in 1979. Fields holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Rutgers University and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard; he worked for IBM prior to earning his MBA. He is married to his wife Jane Fields and has two sons, Max and Zach Fields.

Career in business
Fields was recruited by Ford in 1989 and moved up the ranks, becoming the youngest person (at 38) ever to run a major Japanese company when Ford placed him in charge of Mazda Motor Corporation in 1998. In 2002, Fields became chairman of the Premier Automotive Group, Ford's luxury unit which at the time included Lincoln, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo Cars. He returned to the United States to head the Americas division of the company in October 2005. In a December 14, 2006, announcement made by Alan Mulally (Chief Executive of Ford Motor Company), Mark Fields, at 45, was named business unit chief of Ford Motor Company's Americas operations. This is an attempt to make the company leaner and more centrally driven in areas such as product development, purchasing and engineering. Fields is reported to be a favored candidate for CEO of Ford.

On November 1, 2012, Ford announced the appointment of Fields as its new chief operating officer. grooming him as possible successor to Alan Mulally.