Jim Hackett Named New Ford Motor Company President and CEO; Farley, Hinrichs, Klevorn Take New Roles
New Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett
Ford Motor Company on Monday announced that Jim Hackett, former CEO of Steelcase, will replace Mark Fields as president and CEO. Fields, 56, is electing to retire after a 28-year career with the automaker.
“We’re moving from a position of strength to transform Ford for the future,” said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford. “Jim Hackett is the right CEO to lead Ford during this transformative period for the auto industry and the broader mobility space. He’s a true visionary who brings a unique, human-centered leadership approach to our culture, products, and services that will unlock the potential of our people and our business.”
In addition to his tenure as CEO of Steelcase, Hackett, 62, served as the Interim Athletic Director for the University of Michigan—where he was instrumental in the hiring of coach Jim Harbaugh—and has been the executive chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC since March 2016.
“I am so excited to work with Bill Ford and the entire team to create an even more dynamic and vibrant Ford that improves people’s lives around the world, and creates value for all of our stakeholders,” said Hackett. “I have developed a deep appreciation for Ford’s people, values, and heritage during the past four years as part of the company and look forward to working together with everyone tied to Ford during this transformative period.”
According to Ford, Hackett’s priorities as CEO will be three-fold: sharpening global execution to streamline the business and improve quality, modernizing Ford’s business through the use of new tools and technologies, and transforming the company’s infrastructure in order to meet future challenges head-on.
Jim Farley has been named Ford Executive Vice President and President of Global Operations, effective June 1st.
Hackett’s appointment was just the tipping point of a major management shakeup at Ford. Jim Farley was named the executive vice president and president for Global Markets, which encompasses Ford’s The Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and Asia Pacific business units. Farley was previously the executive vice president and president of Ford Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Joe Hinrichs becomes the executive vice president and president of Global Operations, which oversees Ford’s global endeavors with regards to Product Development; Manufacturing and Labor Affairs; Quality; Purchasing; and Sustainability, Environmental, and Safety Engineering. Hinrichs has been Ford’s executive vice president and president of The Americas since December 2012.
Marcy Klevorn, named the group vice president of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer in January of this year, becomes the executive vice president and president of Mobility, where she will oversee Ford Smart Mobility LLC; Information Technology; and Global Data, Insight, and Analytics. The three aforementioned appointments all take effect on June 1st.
Taking effect immediately is the appointment of Mark Truby to vice president of Communications. Truby was previously the head of Communications for Ford’s Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East, and Africa operations; he replaces Ray Day, who is retiring. Ford has also elected Paul Ballew to the position of Global Chief Data and Analytics Officer.
Though the cause of Fields’ departure is being listed as retirement, USA Today describes it as an internally-forced ouster stemming from impatience over declining stock prices. Fields’ tenure began just under three years ago when he replaced longtime CEO Alan Mulally.
“Mark Fields has been an outstanding leader and deserves a lot of credit for all he has accomplished in his many roles around the globe at Ford,” said Bill Ford. “His strong leadership was critical to our North American restructuring, our turnaround at the end of the last decade, and our record profits in the past two years.”
News Source: USA Today
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