On Monday, Ford Motor will announce that CEO Mark Fields is retiring, to be replaced by Jim Hackett, the former chief executive of office-furniture company Steelcase Inc., people briefed on the switch tell The Associated Press and The New York Times. Fields, 56, is being pushed out after three years as chief executive and 28 years at Ford after the automaker's share price has dropped 40 percent under his watch. Investors criticized him for lagging behind peers in creating electric vehicles and advancing toward self-driving autos, while also letting some core products grow stale. At the same time, Ford reported record pretax profits in 2015.
"Mark Fields was given the nearly impossible task of making the utterly conventional auto manufacturer, Ford Motor Company, into a high-tech information-style company with share values to match," says Jack Nerad at Kelley Blue Book. "Despite turning in credible profits, Fields was unable to turn Ford into a stock market darling, and that may well prove elusive going forward."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 21, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - devilish decrees, biblical blunders, and more
-
5 carefully selected cartoons about the Trump-Daniels jury selection processCartoons Artists take on a stress-free life, rare peers, and more
-
Loire Valley Lodges review: sleep, feast and revive in treetop luxuryThe Week Recommends Forest hideaway offers chance to relax and reset in Michelin key-winning comfort
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billionSpeed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
