By Jorn Madslien BBC News business reporter

Ford US chief Mr Fields will push through dramatic changes

All eyes on Mark Fields, these days - the Ford Motor executive in charge of closing a slew of factories and axing tens of thousands of jobs.

Mr Fields is expected to achieve cost savings of $6bn (�3.4bn), which will indeed prove challenging.

But compared with the true test of his tenure it amounts to little.

Mr Fields' task is not merely about returning the US auto business to profits and halt the company's skidding share price.

He must also bring back the Blue Oval's shine, however intangible that task may be.

Mr Fields appears to have his own definition:

"Our way forward is not a retreat into smaller markets, but a retaking of the American marketplace.

"It's time to fight back."

'Change or die'

Trouble is, how can he bring inspiration to Ford's executives and workforce, at a time when up to one in four of them are about to lose their jobs?

Under Mark, North America will change Bill Ford Chairman and chief executive Ford Motor Ford's rocky 'Way Forward' Check Ford's share price

How can he re-sell the Ford brand to an increasingly sceptical, and perhaps even uninterested, American people?

The answer might lie in his past.

The 44-year-old, who joined Ford Motor in 1989, was moved from the job as head of Ford Europe last October to take charge of the US operations.

While in Europe, Mr Fields had also been in charge of turning around Ford's luxury division Premier Automotive Group (PAG), which includes Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.

Under Mr Fields, PAG launched a string of new models, which were by and large built for the US market, and his efforts at PAG did much to impress the top dogs in Dearborn, Michigan.

But Mr Fields is best known for having engineered the rescue of Ford's third-owned Japanese ally Mazda, which he headed from 2000 to 2002.

Under Mr Fields command, Mazda recovered from a record loss of 155bn yen in the year to April 2001 to record profits of 8.83bn yen in the year to April 2002.

"Mark led the turnaround by telling his team: 'change or die'," observes his boss, Ford Motor chairman and chief executive Bill Ford.

"They changed."

Heir in the making

Last November, just weeks after Mr Fields had taken over the helm at Ford's US division, Mazda reported a 66% rise in net profits for the six months to September, to 32bn yen, and predicted that 2006 would bring it to fresh records once more.

Mr Ford's hope is that Mr Fields can repeat the exercise.

"Under Mark, North America will change, too," he predicts.

"He is a great motivator and a great leader. He has the kind of courage, candour, and communication skills it takes, and that we need, to turn tradition on its head."

And Mr Ford is not the only one who believes in Mr Fields' skills as a leader.

As early as in 2000, before his achievement at Mazda, Mr Fields was named Global Leader of tomorrow by the World Economic Forum.