Ford Motor Company on Tuesday announced that Jim Farley, the current Chief Operating Officer of the company, will be taking over the role of President and CEO of Ford effective October 1.

Jim Hackett, who has led the company since 2017, will be retiring from the company. Farley will also be joining the board of directors.

He will work closely with Hackett on the transition over the next two months, the company said.

“I am very grateful to Jim Hackett for all he has done to modernise Ford and prepare us to compete and win in the future,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s Executive Chairman. “Our new product vision – led by the Mustang Mach-E, new F-150 and Bronco family – is taking shape. We now have compelling plans for electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as full vehicle connectivity. And we are becoming much more nimble, which was apparent when we quickly mobilized to make life-saving equipment at the outset of the pandemic.”

Farley had previously collaborated with Hackett to develop and execute Ford’s Creating Tomorrow Together plan.

He had joined Ford in 2007 as global head of Marketing and Sales and went on to lead Lincoln, Ford South America, Ford of Europe and all Ford global markets in successive roles, Ford said.

“In April 2019, Farley was chosen to lead Ford’s New Businesses, Technology & Strategy team, helping the company determine how to capitalise on powerful forces reshaping the industry – such as software platforms, connectivity, AI, automation and new forms of propulsion. He was named Chief Operating Officer in February of this year,” it said.

Overseas operation

Farley had emerged as a lead contender of the role as his promotion coincided with Hackett’s retirement. He is inheriting the business at a time when the company is struggling to revamp its overseas operations that have been suffering major losses amid the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported. Farley will now focus on building upon the “strong foundation” left by Hackett.

Hackett will continue to be a special advisor to Ford through March of 2021.

“My goal when I took on the CEO role was to prepare Ford to win in the future,” Hackett said. “The hardest thing for a proud, long-lived company to do is a change to meet the challenges of the world it’s entering rather than the world it has known. I’m very proud of how far we have come in creating a modern Ford and I am very optimistic about the future.

“I have worked side-by-side with Jim Farley for the past three years and have the greatest confidence in him as a person and a leader,” he said.

comment COMMENT NOW