Following former Michigan Wolverines athletic director Dave Brandon's resignation in October, the university named former Steelcase CEO Jim Hackett interim athletic director - thus ensuring that the UM graduate will have a major say in all facets of the Michigan coaching search.
Despite working under the interim label, Hackett made one of the biggest decisions that has faced the entire athletic department in years - letting embattled head coach Brady Hoke go amidst a sea or rumors and noise. In truth, he'll also likely be the trigger man to find Hoke's replacement going forward.
Hackett is working like a man convinced that he's going to be around for a long time, acting both decisively and with confidence in the month-plus that he's been on the job so far.
“When I took this job, it was clearly as interim AD,” Hackett said on November 22nd, via Greg Garno of the Michigan Daily. Later he added, “I first have to talk to Kathy Hackett about (staying full time), because she’s asked me the same thing. The challenge right now, I’m so focused on that."
However long Hackett ends up staying in the position, it's apparent that the ambition that helped him climb the ladder at Steelcase (an office furniture manufacturing company) will be a huge asset to the program. Hackett joined the firm in 1981, working his way up to the CEO position with the company in December 1994.
Steelcase reported a $70 million loss in 1994, but Hackett quickly turned the company's fortunes around with decisive action. His moves weren't always popular, however, especially following a major downsizing initiative in 2011 that led to three factories being closed down. Jobs from one of those factories were later relocated to Mexico.
Regardless of the controversy, Hackett was the man who oversaw the first public offering of company stock - stock which has doubled in value over the past five years. Hackett resigned his CEO post on February 28, 2014, moving into a position as the vice chair and director for the corporation. He is also the non-executive Chairman of the Board at Fifth Third Bank, a member of the Ford Motor Company’s Board of Directors, and also a member of the Board of Trustees of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
For all his success in the business world, Hackett's roots remain firmly planted in Ann Arbor. Hackett was a teammate of Dave Brandon's on the 1973 football team (the team's fifth year under legendary head coach Bo Schembechler), with his freshman season coinciding with Brandon's senior year.
"I’d like to thank Dave Brandon for his commitment to Michigan,” Hackett said after replacing his former teammate as AD. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and thank him again for an extraordinary commitment to this university.”
Going forward, Hackett remains confident that the Michigan athletic department's financial stability and continued growth in varsity sports offerings will maintain the university's status as a top-tier destination for the nation's best prep athletes.
While University President Mark Schlissel maintains that Hackett's job is an interim one only and that Michigan continues to search out viable long-term candidates, it appears that Jim Hackett will have a major role in the direction of the football program heading into 2015. Add in his role in the Michigan football coaching search, and he'll likely have an impact on the direction of the program for years to come.
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