Ford’s New CEO Shakes Up Automaker’s Senior Management Team

(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co.'s new Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley wasted no time setting a tone of urgency in his first day on the job by shaking up the automaker's management team.

Farley, who took over as CEO Thursday from Jim Hackett, has said he's looking for fresh thinking to pull Ford out of a slump punctuated by what is expected to be its first annual loss in a decade this year. He named John Lawler, a 30-year company veteran who has headed Ford's autonomous-vehicles unit, the automaker's new chief financial officer.

Farley said in a statement that his predecessor had “opened the door” to making Ford a “vibrant, profitably growing company. Now it's time to charge through that door.”

Lawler replaces Tim Stone, who served in that role for a little over a year and has accepted the CFO position at software company ASAPP Inc., Ford said.

Farley laid out a plan to offer a full lineup of electric vehicles, add more “affordable” models, expand commercial-vehicle services to develop recurring revenue streams and create businesses utilizing the self-driving system of its autonomous affiliate Argo AI.

He said he will allocate capital, resources and talent to Ford's strongest businesses and hottest models. And he aims to put the company on sounder financial footing by targeting an 8% operating margin.

“We're going to compete like a challenger,” Farley said.

Read more: Jim Farley Is Asking Everyone He Meets How to Fix Ford

The new CEO also plans to name new chief information and marketing officers, following the retirement of current CIO Jeff Lemmer on Jan. 1 and removal of CMO Joy Falotico, who will now focus on her other role of heading Lincoln, Ford's luxury brand.

Initial reaction from Wall Street was positive, with Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy, who has a “neutral” rating on the stock, praising Lawler as a “well-regarded Ford veteran” and anticipating more disclosure from Farley on his turnaround plan.

“We believe Farley has challenges balancing near-term fixes with long-term secular” changes, Levy wrote in a research note, “yet brings a sense of urgency.”

Shares of Ford rose 0.7% to $6.70 as of 9:49 a.m. in New York. The stock is down about 30% this year.

The leadership changes are accompanied by some shifts in Ford's managerial structure, including the creation of three regional business units to oversee operations in China, Europe, and the U.S. and the rest of the world.

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