Ford To Replace Mark Fields As CEO: Reports

DEARBORN, MI — Mark Fields is out as Ford Motor Company’s CEO and will be replaced by Jim Hackett, who now serves as president of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, according to multiple media reports. The move comes amid declining profits and falling stock prices at Ford.

Ford shares have slipped about 40 percent since Fields replaced Alan Mulally in July 2014. Ten percent of that slide came in the first five months of this year. Last week, Ford announced a reduction of 10 percent of its salaried employees in response to the softening U.S. auto market.

Ford declined to talk about Fields’ status directly, but sources inside the company indicated a town hall meeting will be held Monday morning, presumably to announce the leadership changes. Besides Fields, the Detroit News reports a new senior management structure will be put in place to emphasize quicker decision-making and crisper execution.

Jim Farley, head of Ford Europe, Middle East and Africa since January 2015, is expected to oversee Ford’s regions, global marketing and sales, and Lincoln Motor Company, the Detroit News reported. The newspaper reported other possible Ford Motor Company moves could include:

• Joe Hinrichs, head of the Americas since December 2012, will manage global product development, manufacturing and labor affairs, purchasing and environmental and safety engineering.
• Marcy Klevorn, vice president of information technology and chief technical officer since January, will oversee Hackett’s Ford Smart Mobility unit.
• Mark Truby, head of communications for Ford Europe and, more recently, in the Asia Pacific region, returns to Dearborn to become vice president of communications.
• Hackett, former CEO of Steelcase Inc., will also pick up the title of President.

"We are staying focused on our plan for creating value and profitable growth. We do not comment on speculation or rumors," Ford said in a statement.

Fields, a Ford veteran, was charged with maintaining the company’s momentum after Mulally’s retirement. But that failed to materialize, and the Detroit News speculated that Ford’s quick move is also in response to a growing threat from tech giants Apple and Google in the transformation of the auto industry toward mobility. The newspaper said company insiders didn’t believe Fields moved quickly enough to meet these and other threats.

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