4- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 3, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Ford president climbed up the corporate ladder Continued from page 3 Canadian assignment and his first real foray away from home for a long period of time. He moved here with Amie and their son, William III, who is 11. Osborne's older sons are Brandon, 23, and Jarrett, 20. Brandon just graduated from Michigan State University and wants to teach. Jarrett is attending Wayne State University, his dad's alma mater. He is in his sophomore year. and would like to be a screenwriter. "My youngest son wants to be everything at this point," laughed Osborne. It was shortly before Christmas 2005 when the Osbornes arrived in Canada and it proved virtually impossible to find a home in Oakville, according to the Ford boss. They have kept their home in Michigan and moved into a fully-furnished abode in the Streetsville/Erin Mills area. Looking for something close to the Ford's One Canadian Drive headquarters and Pearson International Airport, they made their selection and moved in. "We brought up our toothbrushes and it was pretty much done," said Osborne. While that may lead one to think he'll be "heading home," that isn't necessarily on Osborne's agenda. "I don't want to go home, we love it here," he said. At this juncture, Osborne, denying he's being gracious, waxes eloquent on Canada's natural beauty, its clean, livable cities, which he compares to "grime and grunge" cities south of the border where the trend is to urban sprawl to escape the city, and the warmth of Canadian people. "Within three weeks of moving here, the neighbours were having us over for dinner. There are very few places like that in the U.S.," said Osborne, noting Australia comes close. Osborne qualifies his words by noting that he has been offered other positions and has turned them down in order to stay. Of course, none of that's to say he's not a Detroit native through and through -- and one of the biggest fans in the cheering section for his hometown. "As a native of Detroit, I'm always pulling for my hometown," he said. He looks to the restructuring of the North American auto industry as something that's had a great negative effect -- something from which it will admittedly take his hometown some time to recover. If the auto industry struggles, Detroit struggles, said Osborne. Life often isn't easy no matter where you look. Osborne's own transfer behind the Bill Osborne top desk at Ford's Canadian headquarters came after much urging by Osborne to his employer, he said. He even went back to school to obtain a business degree in addition to his engineering degrees. "It's something I'd been asking for, for a while, but there was always something in the way," he said, noting the pieces eventually fell into place after a couple of major product launches were finally under his belt. Osborne, an African-American, who recently received the Planet Africa Award for Professional Excellence, replaced Joe Hinrichs, who became vice president, North America Vehicle Operations, Ford Motor Company. Osborne had been the executive director of Ford Pickup Truck and Commercial Vehicles at the U.S. Ford Motor Company, overseeing the FSeries, Super Duty, Ranger, Econoline and all commercial truck products. As Engineering Director for Ford's Tough Truck business group, he was responsible for the design and development of all trucks for the North American market. He joined Ford in 1990 and has held a variety of roles in product design, development and engineering. He was the Vehicle Line Director for the heavy truck business (including Super Duty, F-Series and Excursion) and was responsible for the overall growth and business development of the Super Duty vehicle line. Osborne has also acted as Assistant Vehicle Line Director for the mid-size sedan platform. He was Manufacturing Operations Manager at the Romeo Engine Plant (the most productive V-8 engine plant in North America). He also led the VEngine Design of Powertrain Operations, the Engine System activity for Duratec V-6 engines and Ford's Advanced Powertrain activities in noise and vibration research. Osborne holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from GMI Engineering & Management Institute and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University. His Masters of Business Administration is from the University of Chicago. When asked about his favourite vehicle and whether that may indeed be a truck rather than car given his extensive background with Ford's truck lines, Osborne admitted, "I'm kind of a truck guy." Then he explains that many people don't realize the subtle nuances between "car people" and "truck people." So what is "a truck guy?" Osborne explains many car buyers view their vehicles as an appliance, whereas truck people "have a deeper, emotional connection with the product." Cars are often used to get from point A to B, while trucks may be used for a specific purpose or are something their owner depends on to a great extent -- or they simply have a greater interest or passion for them. All that said, Osborne is now driving a Lincoln MKX, which is made in Oakville, and said it took him by surprise. "I've really fallen in love with the product," he said. And Osborne, who confesses he's a football and basketball fan, said hockey is something else he has come to love since coming to Canada. "As far as a favourite Canadian hockey team, I have so many constituents, I'm neutral ... I'm the Switzerland of hockey," he said.