Joseph Edward "J. Edward" LUNDY

LUNDY, CHAMBERS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 10/27/2007 at 10:44:56

October 18, 2007
© Wright County Monitor 2007

Joseph Edward "J. Edward" Lundy, died in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday, October 2, 2007, at the age of 92. He was born in 1915 in Clarion, to Vern E. and Mary L. (Chambers) Lundy. He attended the St. John's Parochial School and according to classmate J.R. Ashpole, was "quite a cutup". Lundy graduated from the Clarion High School in 1932 and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Iowa in 1936. From 1936 until 1942 he was at Princeton, where he was on the economics faculty. From 1943-1945 he served in the Army Air Forces. Lundy was one of the ten Army Air Forces veterans, later known as the Whiz Kids, who were hired in 1946 to rescue the Ford Motor Company after the death of its founder. He was appointed controller at Ford Motor and rose through the financial department. He was the last of the Whiz Kids at Ford, keeping his seat on the Board of Directors until 1985, even after he retired. He never married and information about his survivors is not available.
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New York Times, copyright
October 6, 2007

J. Edward Lundy, 92, 'Whiz Kid' at Ford Motor

By NICK BUNKLEY
J. Edward Lundy, who helped resuscitate the Ford Motor Company after World War II and developed financial forecasting methods emulated throughout the auto industry, died in Dearborn on Tuesday. He was 92. His death was announced by Ford, where Mr. Lundy was chief financial officer and executive vice president from 1967 until his retirement in 1979. He was one of 10 Army Air Forces veterans, later known as the Whiz Kids, who were hired in 1946 to rescue the company after the death of its founder, Henry Ford.

Mr. Lundy, who was on the economics faculty at Princeton, was appointed controller. He was known to be both quick and methodical, bringing ''discipline and accountability'' to Ford, according to the Automotive Hall of Fame; Mr. Lundy was inducted to the hall in 2003. Mr. Lundy introduced financial forecasting to Ford, where the finance staff had previously focused on accounting and auditing past performance. The format and language he instituted for financial reporting are still used at Ford today. Staff members call them ''Lundyisms.'' He developed a training philosophy at Ford that produced many of Ford's leaders, including its current chief financial officer, Donat R. Leclair. Ford had not turned a profit in 15 years and was losing $1 million a day when Henry Ford II, the founder's grandson, hired the Whiz Kids. Two of them, Robert S. McNamara and Arjay Miller, eventually became presidents of Ford. Mr. Lundy remained a close confidant of Mr. Ford and rose through the finance department.

Joseph Edward Lundy was born in Iowa in 1915 to Vern E. and Mary L. (Chambers) Ungers. He never married, and Ford had little information on his early life and survivors. He earned a B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1936 and was at Princeton from 1936 until 1942. He served in the Army Air Forces from 1943 to 1945, rising to sergeant. Mr. Lundy was the last of the Whiz Kids at Ford, keeping his seat on Ford's board even after he retired, until 1985.
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Popular Mechanics--
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/reader_rides/1267721.html
PM.Zone's Automotive Hall Of Fame 2003 Inductees
Andy Granatelli and J. Edward Lundy to accept induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame, along with five other automotive legends.

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 6, 2003--Tomorrow night, here at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, former STP President Andy Granatelli and Ford "Whiz Kid" J. Edward Lundy will accept their inductions to the Automotive Hall of Fame. Granatelli and Lundy are the two living members of the 2003 Automotive Hall of Fame class that also includes Max Hoffman, importer and distributor of European automobiles; Sir Alec Issigonis, creator of the Austin Mini; Henry B. Joy, former President of Packard; Harry A. Miller, Indianapolis 500 race car engineer; and Louis Renault, founder of French carmaker Renault.

This new class represents nearly 100 years of automotive achievement, and brings the total number of inductees to 200. The full list can be viewed at www.automuseum.com/HallFame.html. "These seven individuals have irrefutable credentials and have all played significant roles in the development of the automobile or the automobile business," says Hall of Fame President Jeffrey K. Leestma, "and certainly worthy of inclusion in the international motor vehicle industry's highest place of honor." Hall of Fame Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of POPULAR MECHANICS, Joe Oldham, says, "Without great men like these, the automotive industry would not be what it is today."

Through the 1960s and early '70s, the name Andy Granatelli was synonymous with the Indy 500 and STP Corp. Race promoter, owner, designer, engineer and marketer of aftermarket products, Granatelli brought racing to the living rooms of America through groundbreaking corporate sponsorships and innovative marketing. He will be introduced at the induction ceremony by that other racing legend Carroll Shelby.

J. Edward Lundy was one of the original post-war Ford "Whiz Kids." He is credited with assisting Henry Ford II with saving and growing the company after the death of founder Henry Ford. Lundy became Ford Motor Co.’s Chief Financial Officer and a mentor to a generation of industry finance executives. Lundy will be introduced by current Ford Vice Chairman and CFO Allan Gilmour.......