Hope this isn't a repost......didn't see it anywhere else.

Looks like there's at least a partial shake-up in company leadership. Effective March 1, Ford is getting a new Chief Operating Officer (COO).

I'd like to see him undo some recent decisions that I thought were poorly-made, but I won't specifically name those decisions or get into them too deeply here, because I know how a lot of people react to things in Car Chat, and it would inevitably start an argument with the same people. We'll just wait and see what he does.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/ford...p-shakeup.html

Ford names Jim Farley COO in leadership shakeup in which executive Joe Hinrichs is retiring

PUBLISHED FRI, FEB 7 20208:44 AM ESTUPDATED FRI, FEB 7 202010:56 AM EST
Michael Wayland@MIKEWAYLAND
KEY POINTS

• Ford announced that Jim Farley, head of new business, technology and strategy, will be appointed chief operating officer.
• It said Joe Hinrichs, president of the automotive division and a 19-year Ford veteran, will retire.
• The company announced the leadership shakeup as it continues CEO Jim Hackett’s $11 billion global restructuring, which some analysts have criticized for moving too slow.

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Ford to name Jim Farley chief operating officer in executive shakeupFord Motor executive Joe Hinrichs will retire and the company is naming Jim Farley as chief operating officer, the automaker said in a surprise announcement Friday.

It said Farley, currently chief of new business and technology, will take over broader responsibilities from Hinrichs, who is president of the automotive division. Those responsibilities include all global markets and automotive, the company said. Farley will continue reporting to President and CEO Jim Hackett, who has been under fire from Wall Street regarding progress on an $11 billion global restructuring plan.

Shares of the company dropped to a new 52-week low Friday morning before recovering to $8.11 per share, down about 1.7%. Ford stock is down less than 1% in the past year but has fallen 11.3% in 2020.

Hinrich’s departure is unexpected. Despite the company calling it a retirement, Hackett made it seem he didn’t believe Hinrich’s career was over: “Joe’s going to have a wonderful career,” the CEO told reporters. Hinrichs, 53, was not available for comment.

Hinrichs was at the White House on Jan. 29 representing the automaker as President Donald Trump signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. He also was on the automaker’s fourth-quarter earnings call with investors on Tuesday.


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VIDEO10:52
Ford Auto President on the new all-electric Mustang Mach-EThe 19-year Ford veteran was well-liked in the company and a leader for Ford’s manufacturing operations, including during contract negotiations last year with the United Auto Workers and for key vehicle launches in recent years such as the aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup. However, the automaker botched the launch of its redesigned Ford Explorer SUV last year due to personnel problems and quality issues after redoing the entire Chicago plant that builds the vehicle.

Hackett, calling Hinrichs a “really good friend and accomplished global leader,” said the Explorer launch was a “company issue” and the leadership change is “not tied to that at all.”

“This is something I started to work on more than a year ago, as we built the organization that we were in, which was to see how a company like Ford could straddle these two eras,” Hackett said during a Friday morning call with reporters, referring to its traditional automotive business and future mobility efforts.

Hackett said the leadership change, which gives Farley far-reaching oversight, will assist the automaker in executing the global restructuring. Despite losing Hinrichs, Hackett said he’s confident the company “won’t miss a beat” as it prepares for significant launches such as the redesigned F-150, Ford Bronco and Ford Mustang Mach-e.



Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company Executive Vice President and President of Global Markets, reveals the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 at the 2019 North American International Auto Show during Media preview days on January 14, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images“I see Jim as a partner to work together to unite the Ford businesses now so we can move swiftly to take advantage of opportunities that are associated with this new S-curve,” Hackett said. “Fully integrating our vehicles with our rapidly evolving technologies and capabilities ... there will be no chasm in this relationship in between all those capabilities and that’s the advantage we get with this move.”

Farley will retain leadership of Ford Smart Mobility, Ford’s autonomous vehicle operations and the company’s partnership with Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based autonomous vehicle firm.

Farley, 57, joined Ford in 2007 as global head of marketing and sales from Toyota Motor’s Lexus brand. He’s led Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand, Ford South America, Ford of Europe and all of the company’s global markets. Since April, Farley has led Ford’s new businesses, technology & strategy team.

Ford also announced Hau Thai-Tang, chief product development and purchasing officer, will take on an expanded role, reporting to Farley. Thai-Tang, 53, will continue to lead product development and purchasing, while adding responsibility for enterprise product line management and connectivity.

Hackett, in a statement, thanked Hinrichs “for his tremendous leadership over the past two decades.”

The changes are effective March 1.

 

Watch the quality of ford improve

 

Lincoln has already vastly improved over the last several years....particularly with SUVs. Now, hopefully, it will be Ford's turn. The latest Explorer, IMO, is very disappointing.

 

The aviator and explorer have both been pretty terrible launches in terms of quality issues, so much so they have had to retrofit vehicles at dearborn. I`d assume the new COO gots alot of experience in getting things button down well in terms of vehicles before market introductions.

 

Ford / Lincoln is run by idiots.

They got rid of all their sedans that were actually competitive such as Focus and Fusion. All to chase higher SUV profit. The build quality on their vehicles is crap - misaligned body panels, paint chips, loose interior trim etc.

Now they are planning to sell this Mach E nonsense. Nobody bought Volt or the Bolt and nobody will buy this poor excuse for SUV. The Model Y will be faster, more range, cooler, better built, more tech, and cheaper.

Their only hope for survival is to merge with GM and reduce their operations to 25% of current size. Next economic downturn is coming whether in 2, 5 or 10 years and Ford is done.

 

Their F150 could power them through anything to be fair.

 

because farley was marketing head at lexus?

 

Ford is in DEEP trouble. Massive debt, uaw ball and chain, some nice new lincolns but they will never sell enough to contribute much, Ford's sedans are gone, the suv line-up is meh, the explorer hugely overpriced... the only good things i see is the F-150 is still hugely popular, and their big investment in Rivian.

 

Wasnt he the Lexus brand launch manager?

 

Agreed.

The build quality of both Ford and Lincoln products is (currently) all over the map....it ranges from excellent to downright laughable, depending on model, year, and, in some cases, even groups of production-runs within a single year.

Well, you said a minute ago that Ford should not have dumped the sedans while chasing after SUVs...and, yes, I agreed with you on that. But, concerning what you just said, put yourself in Farley's shoes for a minute....how do you propose bringing the sedans back, meeting current and future SUV demand, and shrinking to 25% of current level? I just don't see how that can be done....and if Farley can figure out a way to do that, he will be worth a lot more than what they are probably going to be paying him, even with the kind of big money that today's executives make.

 

Here's some more info on it from C&D:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...im-farley-coo/

Ford Names Strategist Jim Farley Its New Chief Operating Officer

Ford will put strategy chief Jim Farley in the COO slot as Joe Hinrichs retires, days after reporting disappointing financial results for 2019.



By Laura Sky Brown

FEB 7, 2020



Bill PuglianoGetty Images

• Ford announced this morning that Jim Farley, currently head of the New Businesses, Technology & Strategy team, will become chief operating officer, reporting directly to CEO Jim Hackett.
• The move, in which Automotive president Joe Hinrichs retires, is part of the automaker's declared aim of "moving with urgency . . . to accelerate its transformation into a higher-growth, higher-margin business."
• Earlier this week, Ford reported a major loss in fourth-quarter operating income for 2019 and predicted lower-than-expected profits for 2020.

Jim Farley, who started at Ford in marketing and sales 13 years ago and has risen through the company to become its lead strategist, has been named the company's new chief operating officer. Ford announced the move on Friday morning.

In addition to the expectation he will strengthen the company's automotive business, Ford says Farley (pictured above) will be expected to deliver a better profit margin for the company. It also appears to be a move to double down on autonomous and electric vehicles and new technology: with his new duties, Farley retains his position as head of Ford Smart Mobility, the autonomous-driving entity, and will continue to lead Ford in its partnership with Argo AI.




Farley (L) with Ford CEO Jim Hackett at the launch of the 2020 Ford Explorer. Bill PuglianoGetty Images

The Hackett announcement also included the news that chief product development officer Hau Thai-Tang will add responsibility for connectivity and connected services, reporting directly to Farley.

Joe Hinrichs, whose title was president, Automotive, is retiring.

The Many Faces of Ford


What I'd Do Differently: Jim Farley

2020 Ford GT


Ford, GM, Toyota Drafting Autonomous Car RulesEarlier this week, Ford announced it had failed to reach its earnings targets for the fourth quarter of 2019 and expressed guarded predictions about the outlook for 2020, the Wall Street Journalreported this week. In the wake of that information, Ford's stock dropped by 9 percent on Wednesday, February 5.

Farley was profiled by the Detroit Free Press in June 2019, when he took on the job as President of New Businesses, Technology & Strategy, as "the guy who prefers to be dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, spending time in a garage wrenching on classic Mustangs and vintage motorcycles." He was previously a product planner for Toyota who was involved in launching Toyota's Scion subbrand and the Tundra pickup, rising to group vice president and general manager of Lexus.

In a C/D interview titled "What I'd Do Differently" for the October 2014 issue, Farley said his personal garage held "a 1966 Cobra 427, 1932 Ford Highboy, 1978 Lola T298, 2005 Ford GT, Meyers Manx . . . 1976 Honda CB400 Super Sport, and some other stuff."