S8 Ep272: THE WHIZ KIDS AND FORD MOTOR COMPANY Colleague William Taubman. After the war, Tex Thornton recruited McNamara as part of the "Whiz Kids" team to modernize Ford Motor Company using statistic

THE WHIZ KIDS AND FORD MOTOR COMPANY Colleague William Taubman. After the war, Tex Thorntonrecruited McNamara as part of the "Whiz Kids" team to modernize Ford Motor Company using statistical control methods, a role in which McNamara excelled and eventually rose to the presidency. Unlike his peers who settled in the executive enclave of Grosse Pointe, McNamara chose to live in the academic community of Ann Arbor, reflecting his desire to remain connected to intellectual life and serve society rather than focus solely on corporate profits. This period highlighted his tendency to serve strong, authoritative figures, a pattern that repeated with Henry Ford II, JFK, and LBJ. NUMBER 3 1929 CORD MOTOR COMPANY