Dearborn’s Ford Motor Co. today announced Joe Hinrichs as president of automotive, Jim Farley as president of new business, technology, and strategy, and John Lawler as vice president of strategy as part of its global redesign. Marcy Klevorn, president of Ford Mobility, has announced her retirement after 36 years with Ford.
“In the past two years, we have made tangible progress in improving the fitness of our business, overhauled our regional strategies, created a winning product portfolio, and are working to transform Ford to succeed in an era of profound change and disruption,” says Jim Hackett, president and CEO. “With this strong foundation in place for our auto and mobility businesses, we can now accelerate our transformation.”
Hinrichs will step into his new position May 1. He will lead automotive operations and help deliver global earnings before interest and taxes margin of at least 8 percent. He will be responsible for Ford’s global business units – North America, South America, Europe, China, and the international markets group. He will also oversee the Ford and Lincoln brands.
Hinrichs also will lead Ford’s automotive skill teams, which includes product development, purchasing, enterprise product line management, manufacturing and labor affairs, marketing, sales and service, quality and new model launch, sustainability, environmental and safety engineering, information technology, customer experience, and government affairs.
“Joe Hinrichs possesses the knowledge, experience, and leadership to now take our automotive business to world-class levels of product excellence, customer satisfaction, efficiency, and financial performance,” says Hackett. “As we enter a busy period for new product launches and further restructuring in underperforming markets, Joe’s leadership in transforming businesses through focused execution will be key.”
Farley also will start May 1. He will spearhead Ford’s strategies to create a higher growth, higher margin business by leveraging smart, connected vehicles and breakthrough customer experiences. He will oversee corporate strategy, global data insights and analytics, global partnerships, research and advanced engineering, Ford smart mobility, and Ford autonomous vehicles.
“Jim Farley’s job is to drive us into the future, both strategically and operationally, from AVs to mobility experiences to leveraging AI and big data. Jim combines an innate feel for what customers want and need in vehicles and the ability to translate this into the vehicles and services of the future,” says Hackett.
Hinrichs and Farley will continue to report to Hackett.
Lawler will report to Farley and will lead corporate strategy, business development, and global data insights and analytics.
Klevorn announced she will retire Oct. 1. Until then, she will report to Hackett and work with Ford’s senior leadership team.
She will help refine the company’s corporate governance systems, facilitate faster adoption of agile teams across the business, and ensure process improvements across the enterprise. She also will facilitate strategic partnerships with key technology partners and continue to champion Ford’s Professional Women’s Network and support the company’s diversity efforts.
“I have asked Marcy to work with me and the senior team to accelerate our transformation,” says Hackett. “Marcy’s decades of experience working with many of the leading companies in the tech space as well as the work she has done with the transformation of Ford IT and the establishment of Ford Mobility gives her unique knowledge to drive these initiatives.”
Klevorn was appointed leader of Ford Mobility in June 2017. She has since redesigned the organization to focus on delivery of products and services, nurture and grow new businesses, support customers, and incubate new ideas.
She led Ford Mobility as the team put the pillars in place for the company’s transition toward mobility services, including the establishment of Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, the acquisition of Autonomic and the creation of the Transportation Mobility Cloud, and the company’s commitment to 100 percent vehicle connectivity globally.
Kevorn previously was chief information officer.
