World News – FI – New CEO of Ford Farley announces operational restructuring and management reshuffle

New Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley is shaking up the company’s top echelons and restructuring operations as the automaker struggles to build shareholder confidence and stay relevant in an increasingly growing market. more competitive

Farley, who succeeds Jim Hackett, streamlines operations and refocuses on key growth areas such as autonomous and electric technologies as well as commercial vehicles The changes come at a pivotal moment for Ford For years the company failed to gain Wall Street’s trust in its business operations and worked to execute an $ 11 billion turnaround plan announced by Hackett in 2018

Ford shares slipped 40% under Hackett, who succeeded longtime Ford executive Mark Fields as CEO in May 2017 Stock is down 28% so far this year

Farley is hoping to get Ford back into the good graces of Wall Street, which Hackett and Fields couldn’t accomplish is something only former Boeing executive Alan Mulally, who drove the Ford through. the Great Recession without bankruptcy, may have done in recent history

« Over the past three years, under the leadership of Jim Hackett, we have made significant progress and opened the door to becoming a dynamic and profitable growth company, » said Farley, who became CEO on Thursday, in a press release « Now it’s time to charge through that gate »

The goal, according to the company, is to « move urgently to turn around its automotive business – improve quality, reduce costs and accelerate the restructuring of underperforming companies »

This will include leveraging its critically important F-Series pickup franchise and $ 42 billion to fund investments in emerging technology Ford is seen by many to be behind the others, especially General Motors, in its plans for autonomous and electrified vehicles as well as global cost restructuring

Ford must also maintain, if not expand, its truck business amid a slew of new electric pickups expected from Tesla, GM and startup Rivian, among others The company plans to release an electric version of its pickup F-150 in mid-2022

Farley, who most recently served as COO, announced the changes in a virtual public meeting Thursday with the company’s global team

CFO Tim Stone, a former Amazon executive who was a high-profile employee for Hackett, is leaving the company after just 18 months, the company said

Stone, 53, to join artificial intelligence software company ASAPP as COO and CFO, Ford said

He will be replaced by John Lawler, 54, who most recently served as CEO of Ford’s autonomous vehicles unit and vice president of mobility partnerships He spent much of his 30 years at Ford in financial leadership and general management

Ford also plans to add new executives as chief information officer and chief marketing officer Jeff Lemmer, 55, chief information officer of Ford, will retire on January 1 after 33 years in the company Joy Falotico, 53, who served as president of the automaker’s luxury brand Lincoln and Ford’s chief marketing officer, will focus solely on the Lincoln lineup

A Ford spokesperson said the new head of marketing and information is expected to be announced soon

Ford’s European Manufacturing Manager will also retire with immediate effect and will be replaced by Regional Director of Manufacturing and Strategic Partnerships Â

Many of the changes relate to areas previously overseen by Farley, such as Europe, marketing, and the company’s new business operations, such as autonomous and electric vehicles

When Ford named Hackett’s successor in August, Farley vowed to accelerate the automaker’s transformation efforts and spark a new sense of investor interest in the company He said his top priorities were a « smooth transition » in leadership, securing and accelerating North American operations to achieve 10% profit margins and accelerating growth activities such as connectivity and electric vehicles to better compete with Tesla

“These are growth initiatives that I think are not part of the share price today,” he told CNBC “Not that it’s the only thing that matters, but these are growth initiatives that could really bring considerable added value « 

Farley, who is known as an intense ‘car guy’, is only Ford’s 11th CEO in 117 years of history, but the fourth in the last decade

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