Two Ford Executives To Depart -- WSJ
March 22 2018 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Christina Rogers
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (March 22, 2018).
Ford Motor Co. is losing two executives it recently recruited
from Silicon Valley, the latest in a series of prominent executives
to leave the car maker since Chief Executive Jim Hackett was hired
last year to forge fresh thinking at the company.
Musa Tariq, a former Apple Inc. executive hired last year to be
Ford's first brand chief, is leaving the company after a little
more than a year on the job, the company said Wednesday.
Raj Rao, another hire from Silicon Valley tapped to run Ford's
smart-mobility division, has also elected to leave the company for
personal reasons, effective May 1, a Ford spokeswoman said.
Messrs. Tariq and Rao were among a number of auto-industry
outsiders hired by former CEO Mark Fields before his firing last
May to help the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker better compete with
many new tech players looking to upend the car business.
In his mid-30s, Mr. Tariq was among the youngest corporate
officers at Ford and was in charge of building and differentiating
Ford's brand world-wide. Ford's marketing chief Joy Falotico will
now assume Mr. Tariq's brand responsibilities going forward.
Mr. Rao came to Ford from 3M Co., where he previously ran the
company's Silicon Valley digital hub. He was hired on two years ago
as CEO of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a subsidiary created to oversee
the company's investment and partnerships in new ventures, such as
ride hailing and bike sharing.
Mr. Rao previously had reported directly to Mr. Hackett, who was
chairman of the mobility division before becoming CEO. Ford has
since reorganized the unit, which has employees in both Michigan
and Silicon Valley, to focus on a handful of core areas, such as
connectivity and Ford's van-shuttle service Chariot, and named new
leadership.
Their exits comes as Mr. Hackett, nearing his first year on the
job, continues to reshape the leadership team following the
departure of several top executives hired or elevated by Mr.
Fields. Among them is John Casesa, Ford's former strategy chief who
left last fall, and Stephen Odell, who led global marketing until
his retirement in November.
The company was also rocked last month by the abrupt firing of
North American Chief Raj Nair following misconduct allegations. Mr.
Nair, a 31-year veteran at Ford, was elevated to the post by Mr.
Hackett last spring as part of a broader management reshuffle and
ran Ford's most profitable region.
Mr. Hackett, so far, has largely tapped executives from within
to fill out his leadership team, aiming to return focus to the
company's conventional auto-making business. Mr. Fields had come
under criticism that the company was straying too far away from its
core business in pursuit of technology bets with questionable
profit potential.
Ford executives, however, are still trying to allay investor
concerns about falling profits in a flat U.S. car market and prove
to Wall Street that it has a clear strategy.
Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 22, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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