Ford of Canada gets a new boss next week and she has big shoes to fill.
Dianne Craig, formerly the general manager of Ford's southeast region, takes the reins at Ford Canada on Nov. 1, replacing Dave Mondragon, who is moving back to Dearborn to become general marketing manager for the Ford and Lincoln brands in the U.S.
Mondragon, a super-energetic boss who has been known to tire out his Oakville, Ont., staff, came to Canada in the late summer of August 2008 and since then Ford has become the No. 1 auto maker in the country by sales.
Sure, sure, Ford has benefitted from the U.S. bankruptcy of both Chrysler and General Motors, but remember this: Canada is the only major market in the world where Ford is No. 1. Dealers tell me Mondragon has engaged them to push hard and effectively where in the past Ford was complacent and almost lazy and even dispirited. And Mondragon has been leading the company's transition from a pickup and SUV company to one that also markets fuel efficient cars like the Fiesta and Focus.
Mondragon's approach to Canada should also serve as a model for Craig and all other U.S.-sourced CEOs of Canadian subsidiaries. He's travelled the country extensively, engaged aggressively on national issues and even coached little league in Oakville.
Mondragon, a California kid who played college football and then did his MBA at Boston University, told me several times that being president of Ford of Canada was one of the best jobs within Ford. That's because not only was he charged with overseeing Ford's 500-plus Canadian dealer network, but also because he had responsibility for government relations, national sales and marketing, factory issues and all the other parts that come with being the head of a huge Canadian subsidiary of a multinational company.
One of the biggest challenges Craig will almost immediately face is the question of how to replace the outgoing Ford Ranger compact pickup. Losing the Ranger will leave a 15,000-plus hole in Ford of Canada's sales numbers. Mondragon understands the challenge here. He even tried to sell me a Ranger pickup when my son passed his driver's test.
And then Craig will also face the challenge every American deals with when arriving in Canada: learning that Canada is NOT America Light. Some never do figure out that Canada is an entirely different country – not just a less populated, less violent version of the United States. Mondragon did.
On top of that, he was never afraid or reluctant to talk to the press, me included. The always-quotable David Mondragon will be missed – even if he once tried to blow up my budget by selling sell me that Ranger. For the record, I lent Sam the money to buy a used Ranger for $825, though – a 1988 model.