Lee Iacocca

Lee Iacocca rose to president of the Ford Motor Company, where he championed the hit Ford Mustang. His Ford years also spanned the Pinto, whose fuel-tank design was tied to fatal fires and became a landmark case in product-safety and corporate-responsibility debates. Fired by Henry Ford II in 1978, he took over an ailing Chrysler and secured controversial federal loan guarantees in 1979 and 1980 that helped save the company, which repaid the loans early. He became a public face of American business, wrote a best-selling memoir, and led the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. His career tracked the troubles and comebacks of Detroit's big carmakers.