Detroit CEOs Sick Of Being Ashamed Of Detroit
“I’m tired of being ashamed of where I live,” declared Mark Reuss, President of General Motors North America, at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference. His colleagues are likewise frustrated. “With all the national bashing of the region,” an aversion to Michigan is ingrained in the minds of potential job prospects, said Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor. Detroit is the city of long lost sex-appeal. Echoing the dejected sentiments of a clockwatching professional with a clientele of reluctant customers, Bill Ford added: “We have to do an incredible sales job to get them to come.”
1,500 business and political leaders gathered on Mackinac Island on Friday to vent their frustration with where they live. They have my full sympathy. When Ed & I visited Detroit end of April, we stayed in a nice hotel two stone throws from RenCen. I asked for an ATM. The concierge said “right this way, Sir.” I was directed to a hotel shuttle. They drove me around the corner and to an ATM. The shuttle waited. I told him to go back. “Oh no, we are not allowed to let our guests walk around by themselves.”
The Freep, reporting from the conference, concluded that “there remained a nagging worry that the battered image of Detroit and Michigan will take a long time to shake.”
And it’s not that nothing will be done to change Detroit’s off-putting image. Reuss said GM “will soon create a Web site to connect its employees with a range of volunteer opportunities.” The Freep thinks that might not be enough:
Asked whether GM and other major companies could be doing more to help Mayor Dave Bing fix Detroit’s daunting problems, Reuss said, “Yeah, there’s always more you can do. I think he needs help, not that’s he’s not totally capable, but there’s always more you can do.” He didn’t offer specifics.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Reuss should be ashamed of where he works, not where he lives. if the Ren Cen rum dummies would listen once and for all I would rescue their sorry selves, and Detroit along with it.
I remember Detroit being dirty some 20 years ago - when you crossed the border from Windsor you could see a run down shack on the other side of the fence beside the US Customs building.