From 1987 until 2007, Ms. Coleman built a 20-year career at the automaker, rising through the ranks to corporate vice president of global quality for the company and executive director of quality for Ford Americas, a position she held from 2004 to 2007.

Before that, she was CEO and group managing director of Ford Southern Africa, where she orchestrated a major turnaround in the company's operations that boosted profit margins by 13 percent. Ms. Coleman has also served as president, CEO and COO of Auto Alliance International, a joint venture of Ford and Mazda. In 1994, she grabbed headlines worldwide by becoming the first woman to lead a major U.S. automotive assembly plant.

"A self-described process buff, Deborah Coleman has proven to be a guru of efficiency throughout her storied career in the automotive industry. Her tremendous track record for streamlining operations and producing cost-saving innovations at Ford Motor Co. gives me overwhelming confidence that she will ably help guide the National Urban League into its second century of service," Mr. Morial said.

The NUL departments of Finance and Operations, Marketing and Communications, Affiliate Services as well as the divisions of Facilities and IT will now come under Ms. Coleman's command. The league's Development and Programs departments as well as its Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., will continue to report to Mr. Morial.

"Deborah's appointment goes a long way toward advancing our 2005 five-year strategy, which seeks to make the league a leader in the design, testing and promotion of innovative solutions aimed at improving the economic status of African-Americans and similarly-situated minorities, among other goals. She will help further our desire to go from good to great," the NUL president added.

Ms. Coleman began her career in 1977 with General Motors as a reliability engineer at General Motors' St. Louis assembly plant, rising to production superintendent at the company's Pontiac, Mich., plant. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Psychology and an MBA in Marketing.

Ms. Coleman has also served on the boards of countless nonprofit organizations, including the Fulbright Governance Board in South Africa as well as the American Chamber of Commerce in Southern Africa. Ford Southern Africa's HIV/AIDS program garnered U.S. State Department recognition during her tenure with the company.

John Gibbs of Gibbs and Associates managed all aspects of the executive search for Ms. Coleman on behalf of the league.