Donald Frey started working at Ford Motor Company in the research laboratory in 1951 after receiving his PhD and working as a professor of Metallurgy at the University of Michigan. When the research laboratory was split in 1955 into the Scientific Laboratory and Engineering Research, Frey was put in charge of the latter where he worked on product related developments. In 1957, he was named executive engineer in charge of Ford and Mercury lines. Frey soon moved to product planning and was named product planning manager of the Ford Division in 1961 and assistant general manager in 1963. In 1964, he was promoted to Ford Division general manager where he oversaw the development of the Mustang. He was promoted to group vice president for products in 1967 but left Ford in 1968 to head General Cable, and then in 1971, became CEO of Bell and Howell - a position he held until he retired in 1988. In his oral history, Frey discusses his early academic career and his work in research at Ford, especially developing the first gas turbine. He goes on to talk about his role as executive engineer and his work setting up a project management system to increase accountability and provide better quality control. He discusses his time as product planning manager and assistant general manager in the early 1960s and his work to bring back more stylish, youthful cars after Robert McNamara’s focus on plain utilitarian vehicles. He goes into great detail discussing the development of the Mustang from choosing a design, to approval, to scheduling production. He discusses the people involved in the development including Lee Iacocca, Don Petersen, and Hal Sperlich. Frey also talks about the achievements he was most proud of in his career which were safety features – disc brakes and radial tires. During this time, he also pushed for 8-tracks in cars and updating and improving heating and cooling. He discusses how it was a constant struggle with finance to get these safety and comfort innovations passed but he initiated the life and limb schema where engineering had final authority in safety features such as steering, lights, and brakes. He goes on to discuss his time in Ford racing, and his role as principal negotiator in the attempt to buy Ferrari. He speaks of his promotions in the mid-late 1960s, but also of his dissatisfaction in the environment at Ford leading to his leaving the company in 1968. He continues his oral history discussing his time at General Cable, Bell and Howell, and his involvement in the movie industry as a board member of 20th Century Studios.

Collection contains 5 cassettes, 5 WAV files, 5 MP3 files, 2 loose transcripts, 1 bound transcript, and 1 PDF transcript

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Acc. 1856 Executive Speech Collection box 9