Ford Motor Co’s new chief executive, Jim Farley, Farley has embarked on executive shake-up. The action, which he took on his first day as Ford’s 11th CEO, included naming a new chief financial officer.
Responding to investor and analyst criticism of the speed at which his predecessor acted on Thursday, Farley promised that the company, under his management, would move with urgency.
Ford’s promise to accelerate its turnaround is not new at a time when it is executing an $11 billion restructuring.
The automaker, on Thursday announced key leadership changes, which include appointment of John Lawler, 54, as new CFO. He will be overseeing the Finance and Ford Motor Credit organizations. Lawler will succeed Tim Stone, who has accepted a position as chief operating officer and chief financial officer at ASAPP Inc., a research-driven, artificial-intelligence Software Company. Stone will remain with Ford through Oct. 15 to ensure a smooth transition.
Lawler has most recently been serving as CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles and vice president, Mobility Partnerships, and spent much of his 30 years at Ford in finance leadership and general management. He served as president of Ford China for nearly four years when the company achieved record in-country performance. He also served as corporate controller and CFO, Global Markets and head of worldwide strategy.
“John knows our company inside-out, has a clear view and great ambition for what Ford can be, and articulates what’s needed to get there,” Farley said. “As CFO, he will help assure we have the means to fund those ambitions.”
Lawler’s successor in his current position, who will oversee the New Businesses group going forward, will be named later.
“Tim has been a powerful voice inside the company pushing us all to persistently focus on our customers and what they want and need,” Farley said. “He also played a critical leadership role in guiding the company through the COVID-19 crisis. We thank Tim for his contributions and wish him the best.”
Jeff Lemmer, Ford’s chief information officer, will retire Jan. 1 after 33 years with the company. A successor for Lemmer as CIO, who will lead the Technology and Software platform, will be announced in the near future.
“Jeff has been an outstanding leader at Ford and that was never truer than this year, when he and the IT team kept our company fully connected and operational during the pandemic,” Farley said. “Ford shifted more than 100,000 people around the world to remote work virtually overnight because of COVID-19, and our information systems haven’t missed a beat.”
Ford will strengthen its commitment to two key areas by having separate senior leaders run the Lincoln Motor Company and Global Marketing.
Joy Falotico, 53, who has been president of Lincoln and Ford’s chief marketing officer for nearly three years, will be dedicated solely to further growing Ford’s luxury brand once a new chief marketing officer is named shortly. She will report to Kumar Galhotra, president, The Americas and International Markets.
“This change will allow Joy to focus on accelerating Lincoln’s global growth through great vehicles and services and a truly differentiated customer experience,” Galhotra said. “Lincoln’s completely refreshed lineup is resonating with customers in the U.S. as well as in China, where we are now producing the Lincoln Aviator and Corsair locally, for Chinese customers – and that’s just the beginning.”
Separately, in Europe, Dale Wishnousky, 57, vice president, Manufacturing, Ford of Europe, will retire at the end of the year. His career with the company started in 1987 and spanned key manufacturing and service leadership roles in multiple countries. Kieran Cahill, 53, previously director, Manufacturing and Strategic Projects, Ford of Europe, succeeds Wishnousky, effective immediately.
Farley was named chief operating officer in February and promised a faster return to strong profits. He was officially tapped to succeed Jim Hackett in August.
“During the past three years, under Jim Hackett’s leadership, we have made meaningful progress and opened the door to becoming a vibrant, profitably growing company,” Farley said in a statement on Thursday. “Now it’s time to charge through that door.”
Hackett and Ford have been criticized by some on Wall Street for not moving quickly enough on its restructuring. At the end of the second quarter, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company had incurred only $3.9 billion of the projected $11 billion in charges.
Farley will face immediate tests in his new role, including ensuring a smooth launch for the highly profitable, top-selling F-150 pickup truck to avoid the costly missteps Ford experienced when it revamped the Ford Explorer SUV.
Ford on Thursday reaffirmed its goal for operating margins of 8%, something it identified as a 2020 target before the coronavirus pandemic hit. It did not specify when it would achieve this target.
Ford’s operating margin was 4.1% last year, before falling to negative 4.8% in the
Farley outlined his objectives during a virtual town hall meeting with Ford’s global team on Thursday, saying the company will allocate capital to its strongest franchises and high-growth opportunities, such as the F-Series pickup truck and its commercial business.
It also will add more affordable vehicles to its global lineup, build electric vehicles at scale and stand up new autonomous-enabled businesses, he said. Decision making will be pushed down to the regional level.
Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy welcomed Farley’s urgency and Lawler’s ascension, and said investors will expect increased disclosure under the new management team.
Ford has moved to cut costs globally, including earlier this month when it said it would target cutting 1,400 U.S. salaried jobs by year end.
Last year, Ford cut 7,000 salaried jobs globally, as well as targeting 12,000 additional layoffs and plant closures in Europe. It also restructured operations in China and South America.
The automaker previously said it expects a full-year loss because of the pandemic’s impact. It sees a pre-tax profit of between $500 million and $1.5 billion in the third quarter, and a loss in the fourth quarter as it launches several new vehicles.
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