Henry M. Leland was an engineer at Henry Ford Company when Henry Ford left in 1902. He was influental in Ford's departure, and in the decision not to liquidate the company, and instead recreated the company as Cadillac automobile.
As president of Cadillac, Leland pioneered many modern manufacturing processes, including the use of interchangeable, replaceable parts which could be manufactured by machine shops. This allowed automobiles to get repaired by independant garages and owners.
Leland left Cadillac, which was by then a division of General Motors, in 1917 and formed the Lincoln Motor Company to build Liberty aircraft engines. After the war, the company's factories were retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles.
In 1922 Lincoln was bought out by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company, possibly as revenge for Ford's departure from the Henry Ford Company in 1902.