OREANDA-NEWS.Lee Iacocca, who was one of the most important person in the US auto industry, died in Los Angeles at the age of 94.

Iacocca was born in a family of Italian immigrants and became obsessed with making money during the Great Depression of the early 1930s. In 1946, he got a job at Ford, where he made a career. At 36, he became the youngest vice president in the history of an American company.

It was Iacocca who persuaded Henry Ford to agree to the Ford Mustang project, which became one of the most successful in the company's history. In addition, Iacocca personally organized an advertising campaign for the new car, posting materials about it in leading US publications.

In 1968, Iacocca was appointed president of the company. He led Ford through the energy crisis of the early 1970s, helped organize a strong European division, but disagreements with Henry Ford II led to the dismissal of a top manager in 1978.