Ford appoints new CEO in reshuffle
Print Edition
FORD Motor Co shook up its top management yesterday, replacing Mark Fields as president and CEO with Jim Hackett amid declining sales in the US and Chinese markets.
Three new executive vice presidents were named to oversee global markets, global operations and mobility as part of the shake-up.
The appointments take effect on June 1.
Hackett, 62, “has a long track record of innovation and business success,” Ford said in a press release, noting that Fields, 56, “elected to retire from Ford after a successful 28-year career with the company.”
Hackett has led Ford’s “smart mobility” unit, which includes self-driving cars, since March 2016. He previously led a turnaround at office furniture company Steelcase.
“We’re moving from a position of strength to transform Ford for the future,” Executive Chairman Bill Ford said. “Jim Hackett is the right CEO to lead Ford during this transformative period for the auto industry and the broader mobility space.”
Jim Farley, a former Toyota CEO who has helped Ford to return to profitability in Europe as General Motors recedes, was named executive vice president and president of global markets.
A source familiar with the matter said most executives who were promoted by former Ford chief Alan Mulally, who led the company for eight years until 2014, are likely to either move or leave the group.
These changes come at a time when Ford is going through a tough time. Like its US competitors, Ford faces its first downturn since 2009, after several years of record sales.
The share price has lost more than a third of its value in three years and it was supplanted in April by upstart electric-car maker Tesla in terms of market capitalization.
The group’s profits plunged by 38 percent in 2016, a trend that was confirmed in the first quarter, while costs exploded. As a result, the group recently announced it was cutting 1,400 salaried jobs in North America and Asia.
Fields has led Ford for just three years and wanted to turn the company into a mobility services group in the hope of containing the Silicon Valley offensive in the automobile industry.
Indeed, there is a race against time pitting old-school carmakers against Alphabet’s Waymo, Apple, Uber and Tesla to develop and market the autonomous car by 2020.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
