Ford appoints new CEO

Jim Hackett

Reporting to executive chairman Bill Ford, Hackett will lead Ford’s worldwide operations and 202,000 employees globally.

Hackett, 62, has a long track record of innovation and business success as CEO of Steelcase, interim athletic director at the University of Michigan and executive chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC since March 2016.

“We’re moving from a position of strength to transform Ford for the future,” 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. 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.”

The company also announced key global leadership changes designed to further strengthen its core automotive business and accelerate a strategic shift to capitalise on emerging opportunities.

Three priorities

Hackett, together with Bill Ford, will focus on three priorities:

• Sharpening operational execution across the global business to further enhance quality, go-to-market strategy; product launch, while decisively addressing underperforming parts of the business.
  
• Modernising Ford’s business, using new tools and techniques to unleash innovation, speed decision making and improve efficiency. This includes increasingly leveraging big data, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, 3D printing and more.
  
• Transforming the company to meet future challenges, ensuring the company has the right culture, talent, strategic processes and nimbleness to succeed as society’s needs and consumer behaviour change over time.