Ford Motor Co. says it continues to focus on improving customer experience and is making some key leadership changes in the process that it says will help it create better products, customer services and software.
Ford announced the personnel changes Wednesday, just hours before the company was due to report its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings for 2024 in which its current Chief Financial Officer John Lawler was expected to present results to analysts and the media for the last time. His job will move to Sherry House, who has been Ford’s vice president of finance. House will become the CFO effective Thursday. Lawler will continue to serve as Ford’s vice chair to focus on strategy, partnerships, alliances and corporate development.
Ford hired House last year as vice president of finance with plans to transition her into the CFO job early this year. Previously, she had worked at Lucid Motors as its CFO and began her career at General Motors in 1994, where she spent about a decade working as a product engineer and in various managerial roles in accounting and technology.
“I’m excited to partner with Sherry to deliver results and create value for all of our stakeholders,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement Wednesday. “Sherry combines a strong track record of driving performance and cost efficiency at auto industry (carmakers) and suppliers with real-world experience in investment banking, mobility and technology, including electric vehicles and autonomy.”
Ford also announced Wednesday that Marin Gjaja, who joined Ford in 2022, is now chief strategy officer after holding key leadership roles, including most recently COO for Ford Model e — Ford’s division that develops electric vehicles, digital platforms and software such as BlueCruise advanced driver-assistance. Gjaja, who previously spent 25 years at BCG developing and deploying strategies for American companies, will report to Farley and Lawler.
“We have a compelling strategy in Ford+, and John’s and Marin’s experience will help us capitalize on opportunities to deploy capital and create advantages amid the major shifts taking place in technology, policy, customer preferences and new competition,” Farley said.
Ford+, which was unveiled about three years ago, is a growth strategy to improve customer experience and loyalty by combining Ford’s existing strengths with new capabilities and customer relationships.
Ford also announced Wednesday that David McClelland, who has been Ford’s vice president of strategy and partnerships since 2019, will retire toward the end of the first quarter. He’s worked at Ford for 32 years. His career included serving as CEO of Ford Motor Credit, the company’s finance arm, from 2018 to 2019. He also remains chairman of Ford Motor Credit, according to his LinkedIn page.
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