DETROIT — Ford Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley will lead the storied automaker into the future starting Oct. 1 when current CEO Jim Hackett retires.
The company has struggled in recent years and is in the midst of an $11 billion restructuring plan designed to make it leaner and crank out new vehicles to replace what was an aging model lineup.
As COO, the 58-year-old Farley led the company’s global markets and product development. He was in charge as Ford rolled out a revamped F-150 pickup, the new Bronco off-road SUV brand and the electric Mustang Mach-E SUV.
Farley was hired away from Toyota by then-CEO Alan Mulally in November of 2007 to run Ford’s marketing operations.
The 65-year-old Hackett took over for the ousted Mark Fields in May 2017. Almost immediately he began reviewing Ford’s management structure and flattened the organization so it could move faster. But his often lengthy directives confused employees who weren’t clear on where the company was headed.
Hackett, a retired Steelcase CEO who had run Ford’s mobility efforts, will stay on as an adviser to Farley through March of 2021.
Ford has an assembly plant on the Far South Side and a stamping plant in south suburban Chicago Heights.
