Lee Iacocca Biography
(Businessman)
Birthday: October 15, 1924 (Libra)
Born In: Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Lee Iacocca, born as Lido Anthony Iacocca, is a businessman who attained a celebrity status by reviving the fortunes of automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation which was on the verge of bankruptcy when he took over as the CEO. Previously, he had worked at the Ford Motor Company where he had successfully designed several popular models of cars, the most notable of which were the Ford Mustang, Ford Escort, Mercury Cougar and Mercury Marquis. He was a brilliant employee at Ford and had eventually risen to the post of President. However his business ideas were unorthodox and he possessed a brash management style which brought him into conflict with Henry Ford II who fired him. Though shocked at being fired from the company where he had put in three decades of hard work, he was not away for long from the automobile business. Chrysler Corporation which was performing very poorly in the market and suffering huge losses invited him to join them. Ford’s loss proved to be Chrysler’s gain as Iacocca engineered one of the most famous turnarounds in the history of American automobile industry by rescuing the struggling corporation and enabling it to register profits again. He was named the 18th-greatest American CEO of all time by the Portfolio.