Ford CEO to retire Oct. 1, hand reins to COO

Ford Motor CEO Jim Hackett will retire Oct. 1, the automaker announced Tuesday.

Ford Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley will succeed Hackett, CNBC reported. The company said Farley and Hackett will work together toward a “smooth leadership transition over the next two months.”

Hackett, who became CEO in May 2017, was the company’s third chief executive since the 2008 recession nearly bankrupted it.

As recently as February, during a shakeup of the company’s C-suite, he had said “I plan on staying in this job,” according to CNBC. During the restructuring, he said he and Farley would work together “tightly to now realize the value that we’ve been promising.”

Since assuming the position, he has been scrutinized over both his general leadership and his handling of a multiyear restructuring plan to better position Ford in the electric and self-driving vehicle markets. He is set to remain as a special adviser to the company through March 2021.

Hackett’s tenure as CEO has done little to instill confidence in the company’s stock, which was also a major reason listed for the ouster of his predecessor, Mark Fields.

“I am very grateful to Jim Hackett for all he has done to modernize Ford and prepare us to compete and win in the future,” Executive Chairman Bill Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, said in a statement. Hackett has also served on the company’s board of directors since 2013.

Farley has been considered Hackett’s heir apparent for months since longtime executive Joe Hinrichs left the company during the executive retooling.

Farley has been with the company since 2007 when he joined as global head of marketing and sales. Since then, he has held several positions within the automaker, including head of its Lincoln brand and overseeing its international operations in South America and Europe, CNBC reported.