Where Is He Now?

Jacques (Jac) Nasser was forced out as CEO of Ford Motor Co. four years ago this month. Since then, he has shunned the limelight he once so immensely enjoyed.

Nasser still holds his cards close to his chest, but during a phone interview with Ward's he provides some details of his new life as a private equity banker.

“When I say ‘private equity,’ I like the ‘private,’ in particular,” he laughs, referring to his past as a highly visible figure on the global automotive scene.

Nasser spent most of his nearly three tumultuous years at the top of Ford under relentless media scrutiny. He was the guy in the hot seat during the infamous Firestone shredding-tire fiasco, which zeroed in on Ford Explorer rollovers when the tires failed.

He also was criticized for leading Ford into questionable new fields while taking his eye off the company's core business. Ford suffered serious quality problems on his watch. Its losses mounted and its market share shrunk as the axe began to fall.

Still, Nasser made several moves that may yet pay off for Ford.

Shortly after becoming CEO, he presided over the $6.4 billion acquisition of Sweden's Volvo Cars; established the Premier Automotive Group that originally consisted of Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lincoln; spun off Ford's components operations to newly formed (and now troubled) Visteon Corp.; and acquired Land Rover from BMW AG for $2.7 billion.

Now he seems happy to have put it all behind him.

“Life is really good,” he says. “I'm having fun and enjoying traveling all over — Australia, Europe and the United States. I never thought I'd spend so much time (33 years) in the auto industry and then do something else.”

Nasser, 57, joined One Equity Partners, a branch of Bank One Corp., in 2002. “Things were down,” he says. “Everyone was licking their wounds from the excesses of the '90s. It was a fortunate time to buy companies.”

Nasser won't say in which companies One Equity Partners put its cash, but one is publicly known: Once-proud Polaroid Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2001.

Nasser reportedly led a deal in 2002 to buy Polaroid for $255 million and Bank One established Polaroid Holding Co. to continue the business. It was sold last April to Petters Group Worldwide and renamed Polaroid Corp.

Nasser, who was born in Lebanon and grew up in Australia, still makes his home in the Detroit area. He would not discuss reports he is interested in a new strategy for “instant” car financing. He once was rumored a candidate to head Testra, Australia's telephone company; someone else has since filled that job.

These days, Bank One, Citicorp and J.P. Morgan are joined “in one big family” in the private equity business, he says, adding that “everyone is extremely supportive; it's rewarding spending time to help companies.”

Given the U.S. auto industry's current travails, Nasser quips “I'm glad I'm not chopping wood anymore.”