Several past strategic directors at Ford have advanced to more senior executive jobs.

It was not totally clear whether he had the administrative insight as well as the decision-making ability that a senior executive job requires.

Perhaps the most misleading part of the article was the confusion of strategies for a senior executive job search with basic training for the vast majority of candidates who come through outplacement.

I know this personally, unfortunately, because I spent 35 years at I.B.M. Japan, and yet a Japanese has never been elected to a senior executive job in Armonk."

White Collar Jobs Affected Although executive headhunters at Korn-Ferry recently reported "strong signs that the recession in senior executive jobs is easing," the biggest losers are likely to be white-collar workers, especially those who labor in back offices.

Mr. Betti, 59 years old, who left a senior executive job at the Ford Motor Company 16 months ago to head the Pentagon acquisition office, made no mention of the troubles with the Avenger in a three-paragraph resignation statement released by the Defense Department.

Micheline Charest, left, and Ronald A. Weinberg were dismissed from their senior executive jobs on Thursday, although they had not been working since March, when it was disclosed that $122 million was missing from the Montreal company, best known for the Emmy award-winning "Arthur" children's television series.