The management shuffle was driven partly by concern about Ford's poor performance in Europe and South America and partly by the company's desire to grant more autonomy to overseas managers to groom them for top jobs later.

Stoke appointed the football club's first overseas manager, Gudjon Thordarson, who helped Stoke City win the Football League Trophy and earn promotion to the First Division in 2001-02.

In many cases, it seemed that the younger athletes who stayed at home, trained at the high altitudes and avoided the clasp of overseas managers and the lure of big money prevailed.

That fear was heightened, she said, when an e-mail message from an overseas manager, including confidential sales numbers, showed up on a Yahoo message board last week.

Instead, Mr. Vallone announced that corporate leaders had agreed to inform overseas managers about international religious rights declarations and abide by a voluntary set of principles intended to prohibit religious discrimination in the workplace.

Ruud Gullit became the first overseas manager to win the FA Cup final when his Chelsea team beat Middlesbrough 2 - 0 in 1997.

They had their first son David and then, promoted to overseas manager and eventually president of Liberty, moved to London while settling his family in Lugano, Switzerland, where they had two more sons, Roberto and Jonathan .

This 8-week option may also have particular appeal for overseas managers.

In 1997, Ruud Gullit became the first overseas manager to win the FA Cup, as his Chelsea side beat Middlesbrough 2-0.

He worked for Universal Pictures from 1946 to 1952 as an overseas manager in India, Singapore and Venezuela.