12:56 pm, May 22, 2017
FORD will part company with chief executive Mark Fields amid questions about the car giant’s performance and future strategy, it was reported.
Fields is retiring after 28 years at the company, according to several reports coming out of the US.
The 56-year-old, pictured, is to be replaced by Jim Hackett, who joined Ford’s board in 2013 and has led the carmaker’s mobility unit since last year.
Under Fields’ three-year tenure at the helm, Ford’s shares have tumbled almost 40 per cent and he has come under fire for not focusing enough on the core business.
Hackett is the former boss of office furniture maker Steelcase, one of the world’s largest office furniture companies.
He is credited with transforming that company, in part by predicting the shift away from cubicles to open office plans.
He also cut thousands of jobs and moved furniture production from the US to Mexico to stem massive losses.
As part of the shake-up, several Ford executives are taking on new roles.
Jim Farley, who led the company’s European division back to profitability in recent years, will become vice president of global markets and will oversee Lincoln sales and marketing.
Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford’s Americas division, will oversee global product development, manufacturing and quality. Marcy Klevorn, Ford’s chief technical officer, will replace Hackett as the head of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, Ford’s future mobility unit.
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