Ford CEO Jim Hackett in it for long haul to steer turnaround
Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News Europe
  • Automotive News Mexico
  • Automotive News China
  • Automobilwoche
AN-LOGO-BLUE
Subscribe
  • Subscribe for $7
  • Account
  • login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • Dealers
    • Automakers & Suppliers
    • News by Brand
    • Cars & Concepts
    • China
    • Shift
    • Mobility Report
    • Special Reports
    • Digital Edition Archive
    • This Week's Issue
    • TrumpReuters.jpg
      Trump touts finishing 'big deal' with China soon
      Annual electrified vehicle sales likely to dip in 2019
      GM loses more ground as JV deliveries fall
      VW brand posts sales growth for 3 straight months
    • Many lessons learned -- and some underway -- on battery safety
      Four technologies that could take the world beyond lithium ion
      How adhesives aid EV design
      A look at how lithium ion batteries work
    • Connected cars yield to broadband as FCC advances airwaves plan
      CEO of GM's Cruise hints at offering low-cost shared rides
      NTSB scrutinizes 'automation complacency' after Uber crash
      Karl-Thomas Neumann joins board of Israeli startup
    • Automotive News special report: Retail Realities
      2019 UAW-Detroit 3 negotiations: The path forward
      Dealerships owned by ex-NFL stars face collapse, litigation
      Want a luxury car? Try a Kia
    • With battery partner, GM eases risk
      Automakers push GPB to sell stores
      FCA and PSA together will be stronger, Tavares says
      Nissan furloughs U.S. employees to save cash
    • Access F&I
    • Fixed Ops Journal
    • Marketing
    • Used Cars
    • Sales
    • Best Practices
    • Dealership Buy/Sell
    • NADA
    • NADA Show
    • Automakers
    • Manufacturing
    • Suppliers
    • Regulations & Safety
    • Executives
    • Leading Women Network
    • Guide to Economic Development
    • PACE Awards
    • Management Briefing Seminars
    • World Congress
    • Aston Martin
    • BMW
      • Mini
      • Rolls-Royce
    • Daimler
      • Mercedes Benz
      • Smart
    • Fiat Chrysler
      • Alfa Romeo
      • Chrysler
      • Dodge
      • Ferrari
      • Fiat
      • Jeep
      • Maserati
      • Ram
    • Ford
      • Lincoln
    • General Motors
      • Buick
      • Cadillac
      • Chevrolet
      • GMC
      • Holden
    • Honda
      • Acura
    • Hyundai
      • Genesis
      • Kia
    • Mazda
    • McLaren
    • Mitsubishi
    • Nissan
      • Infiniti
    • PSA
      • Citroen
      • Opel
      • Peugeot
    • Renault
    • Subaru
    • Suzuki
    • Tata
      • Jaguar
      • Land Rover
    • Tesla
    • Toyota
      • Lexus
    • Volkswagen
      • Audi
      • Bentley
      • Bugatti
      • Lamborghini
      • Porsche
      • Seat
      • Skoda
    • Volvo
    • (Discontinued Brands)
    • Auto Shows
      • Detroit Auto Show
      • New York Auto Show
      • Los Angeles Auto Show
      • Chicago Auto Show
      • Geneva Auto Show
      • Paris Auto Show
      • Frankfurt Auto Show
      • Toronto Auto Show
      • Tokyo Auto Show
      • Shanghai Auto Show
      • Beijing Auto Show
    • Future Product Pipeline
    • Photo Galleries
    • Car Cutaways
    • Design
  • OPINION
    • Blogs
    • Cartoons
    • Keith Crain
    • Automotive Views with Jason Stein
    • Columnists
    • China Commentary
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send us a Letter
    • Alfa-Romeo-Stelvio- web.jpg
      Alfa Romeo could be Tavares' toughest turnaround
      Iacobelli
      Alphons Iacobelli: The bad penny that keeps turning up
      With Mach-E, Ford ensures Mustang badge will live on
      Autonomous
      A call for clarity on self-driving terminology
    • view gallery
      1 photos
      Hop On In
      view gallery
      1 photos
      Polarizing Design
      view gallery
      1 photos
      Charging Ahead
      Roger Penske buys the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar
      view gallery
      1 photos
      Pace Truck
    • Shifting gears away from the stick shift
      SEMA still a wonderful circus
      Penske still has plenty of races to win
      Ford's turn in the hot seat
    • December 13, 2019 | Toyota’s Lentz had grace, style and class
      December 6, 2019 | All-Stars will leave an imprint on the industry’s future
      November 29, 2019 | Plenty to be thankful for in the automotive industry
      November 22, 2019 | GM’s lawsuit against FCA is all about payback
    • Jody Hall
      Manufacturing materials count in vehicles' impact on planet
      EV hype or reality? Follow the money
      Lindsay VanHulle
      AI changes work at dealerships
      Troy Blackwell
      New ideas needed to lift EV residuals
    • Output begins to recover, but pressure remains for carmakers
      EV taxis
      Beijing, unrelenting, steps up push for EV output
      Buick in China
      Global automakers raise bet on gasoline crossovers, SUVs in search of growth opportunities
      American brands, losing ground, face new challenges in China
    • Uber case should prompt tighter AV controls
      Plan to clean up UAW corruption is a good start
      Shared benefits make FCA-PSA union worth risk
      GM, UAW should get credit for working out deal
    • Cadillac needs to get its priorities straight
      Trabant has been reliable, mostly
      EVs have challenges, but so did early ICEs
      Detroit 3's sedan move shortsighted
  • DATA CENTER
  • VIDEO
    • AutoNews Now
    • First Shift
    • Special Video Reports
    • Weekend Drive
    • AutoNews Now: Mercedes to delay U.S. launch of all-electric EQC
      AutoNews Now: Asbury to buy luxury dealerships for $1B
      AutoNews Now: Toyota NA chief Jim Lentz to retire in March
      AutoNews Now: GM, Ford praise USMCA compromise
    • First Shift: Tesla says Cybertruck likely will be medium-duty pickup
      First Shift: Feds probe July fire at UAW headquarters
      First Shift: Chevy SUVs get more space, tech, safety features
      First Shift: Workers at several FCA plants vote to approve contract
    • Florida FCA store scores with soft-sell approach in service drive
      Ford's Jim Hackett on Wall Street, the Mustang Mach-E and tech opportunities for dealers
      watch video
      9:13
      Women service staffers defy perceptions, boost customer satisfaction
      Tenn. dealer preaches profits, fixed ops longevity, workplace empathy
    • Why Carlos Tavares wants to merge PSA and FCA  
      Lincoln aims to 'paint a new picture' for shoppers
      VW's Scott Keogh on bringing 'cool' EVs to the masses
      How Toyota found its 'niche' in Mexico
  • EVENTS & AWARDS
    • Events
    • Awards
    • World Congress
    • Retail Forum: NADA
    • Canada Congress
    • Marketing 360: L.A.
    • Europe Congress
    • Retail Forum: Chicago
    • Leading Women Conference Detroit
    • Retail Forum: Toronto
    • Fixed Ops Journal Forum
    • 100 Leading Women
      • Submit a nomination for 2020
    • 40 Under 40 Retail
    • All-Stars
    • Best Dealerships To Work For
    • PACE Awards
    • PACEpilot
    • Rising Stars
    • Europe Rising Stars
  • JOBS
  • +MORE
    • Leading Women Network
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
    • Publishing Partners
    • Classifieds
    • People on the Move
    • Newsletters
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • RSS Feeds
    • Shift: A Podcast About Mobility
    • Special Reports Podcasts
    • Weekend Drive Podcasts
    • Ally: Do It Right
    • DealerSocket
    • Deloitte: Cyber everywhere: Preparing for automotive safety in the face of cyber threats
    • Facebook: The road to a zero-friction future
    • Guide To Economic Development
    • PayPal Credit: How consumer financing helps drive sales for online auto parts retailers
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Executives
December 02, 2019 12:00 AM

Hackett in it for long haul to steer Ford turnaround

Michael Martinez
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    CHINA HALEY
    “We’re hopeful the Mach-E is an exemplary story of the way we’re trying to change Ford,” Hackett says.

    DETROIT — Jim Hackett has been CEO of Ford Motor Co. for nearly as long as his predecessor, Mark Fields, held the job.

    By some measures — Ford's languishing stock price, in particular — seemingly not much has changed from Fields' regime. But from Hackett's perspective, virtually everything has.

    And at a stage when his predecessor was under growing pressure from Wall Street and the board of directors, Hackett is digging in for a longer-term stay.

    "I see a dramatic improvement in the business," Hackett said in an interview last week at Ford's headquarters. "When I came in, it was my observation that it had been frozen a little bit, like caught in amber. Everything that was great about it was frozen. ... Ford needed to break the amber and start to transform."

    Hackett points to changes that have touched on "almost every aspect" of the business, from what vehicles Ford builds to how it designs them. He has revamped the company's organizational structure, cut excess manufacturing costs and instituted other structural changes he says are "not always obvious" to Wall Street analysts. There have been 19 changes to Ford's product plan — nameplates either crossed out or inserted — since his arrival, he said.

    Two and a half years in, Hackett finally can direct investors and employees to a sheet-metal embodiment of the philosophies he at times has struggled to convey: the Mustang Mach-E.

    The electric crossover, set to reach dealerships late next year, is the first vehicle Hackett and his team could significantly influence. They scrapped plans for a compliance car to instead emphasize performance and design, later taking the controversial step of expanding the Mustang brand to help boost sales and profitability.

    "We're hopeful the Mach-E is an exemplary story of the way we're trying to change Ford," Hackett told Automotive News. "It's an incredible turnaround in speed and quality and innovation, which is what we talked about 30 months ago that we want to bring to the company."

    And it's a strategy Hackett plans to bring to other products — including the long-awaited Bronco and the next-generation F-150.

    Next-gen F-150

    Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas last year suggested the F-150 might be worth more than the entire company, punctuating the pickup's importance to Ford's lineup as well as its balance sheet.

    But it's facing more competition than ever.

    Fiat Chrysler's Ram has surged to second place in U.S. sales, in part because of a lavish interior that has won customers from its rivals. And a host of new players are set to enter the market as soon as 2021 with electric pickups, including Tesla and Ford partner Rivian.

    "The fitness of the kind of competition that comes at us gets better and better," Hackett said. "We can't stand on our laurels here, and we're not."

    While the current-generation F-150 upended the industry with its use of an aluminum body, Hackett said the next-gen pickup will focus on connectivity. He didn't divulge timing, but it's expected to go on sale next year as a 2021 model.

    "We take the advantages of [aluminum], and we now start to marry the intelligence — the emergence of the connectivity, the awareness of how people use the vehicles," he said. "The intensity of understanding what people do in our F-150s has probably never been higher. We have to keep changing the product for them in ways that they care about."

    That's likely to include the next-generation Sync infotainment system, which allows over-the-air software updates, that Ford showcased last month on the Mach-E. Like the Mach-E, the pickup is expected to get a much larger touch screen. The truck will also include a hybrid variant, which Ford says can double as a mobile generator.

    While Ford also has plans for a fully electric pickup down the road, Hackett said the flexibility afforded by a hybrid could appeal to more customers.

    "For certain jobs to be done, the gasoline engine and the diesel are better solutions," he said. "And so having that range of options for our customers is going to be a big advantage with that line."

    Related Article
    FORD'S JIM HACKETT: 2019 a year of action
    ‘So much to do'

    After a 33-year career at furniture-maker Steelcase and a stint as interim athletic director at the University of Michigan, some assumed Hackett, who turned 64 in April, would essentially be a transitional leader for Ford. He was on Ford's board when the body decided to oust Fields, and Executive Chairman Bill Ford abruptly asked Hackett to step in.

    Hackett, who initially didn't want the job but accepted after talking it over with family, said he never viewed it as a short-term move.

    "When you're the CEO of a company, you don't look at your job in 12-month increments or anything like that," he said. "You actually go out much further than that, because the emotional commitment, the physical commitment, the relationship commitment is long enough that you've got to put that date way out there and then you work back."

    Still on his to-do list?

    In addition to launching the Mach-E, Bronco, F-150 and a spate of other products, he still hopes to convince Wall Street that his methods really have changed the culture at Ford. Ford shares have fallen 18 percent during Hackett's tenure, and Moody's Investor Service recently downgraded Ford's credit rating to junk status.

    "I feel like I can still help in ways the transformation requires," he said. "When Bill and I sat down and made this decision ... we just said, 'What's it gonna take to get this turned around?' And we put ourselves out here, and we're working our way through it. I don't get up any day thinking that date's nearer because I still have so much to do."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Digital Edition
    THIS WEEK'S EDITION
    See our archive
    Fixed Ops Journal
    Fixed Ops Journal - 12-16-19
    Read the issue
    See our archive
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe for $7

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business. This week only: Subscribe for $7/ month or $79/ year (up to 50% off the full price)

    Subscribe Now
    Connect With Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    Our mission

    The Automotive News mission is to be the primary source of industry news, data and understanding for the industry's decision-makers interested in North America.

    AN-LOGO-BLUE
    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit, Michigan
    48207-2997

    (877) 812-1584

    Email us

    Automotive News
    ISSN 0005-1551 (print)
    ISSN 1557-7686 (online)

    Fixed Ops Journal
    ISSN 2576-1064 (print)
    ISSN 2576-1072 (online)

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • Subscribe
    • Manage your account
    • Reprints
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    Automotive News
    Copyright © 1996-2019. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
    • NEWS
      • Dealers
        • Access F&I
        • Fixed Ops Journal
        • Marketing
        • Used Cars
        • Sales
        • Best Practices
        • Dealership Buy/Sell
        • NADA
        • NADA Show
      • Automakers & Suppliers
        • Automakers
        • Manufacturing
        • Suppliers
        • Regulations & Safety
        • Executives
        • Leading Women Network
        • Guide to Economic Development
        • PACE Awards
        • Management Briefing Seminars
        • World Congress
      • News by Brand
        • Aston Martin
        • BMW
          • Mini
          • Rolls-Royce
        • Daimler
          • Mercedes Benz
          • Smart
        • Fiat Chrysler
          • Alfa Romeo
          • Chrysler
          • Dodge
          • Ferrari
          • Fiat
          • Jeep
          • Maserati
          • Ram
        • Ford
          • Lincoln
        • General Motors
          • Buick
          • Cadillac
          • Chevrolet
          • GMC
          • Holden
        • Honda
          • Acura
        • Hyundai
          • Genesis
          • Kia
        • Mazda
        • McLaren
        • Mitsubishi
        • Nissan
          • Infiniti
        • PSA
          • Citroen
          • Opel
          • Peugeot
        • Renault
        • Subaru
        • Suzuki
        • Tata
          • Jaguar
          • Land Rover
        • Tesla
        • Toyota
          • Lexus
        • Volkswagen
          • Audi
          • Bentley
          • Bugatti
          • Lamborghini
          • Porsche
          • Seat
          • Skoda
        • Volvo
        • (Discontinued Brands)
      • Cars & Concepts
        • Auto Shows
          • Detroit Auto Show
          • New York Auto Show
          • Los Angeles Auto Show
          • Chicago Auto Show
          • Geneva Auto Show
          • Paris Auto Show
          • Frankfurt Auto Show
          • Toronto Auto Show
          • Tokyo Auto Show
          • Shanghai Auto Show
          • Beijing Auto Show
        • Future Product Pipeline
        • Photo Galleries
        • Car Cutaways
        • Design
      • China
      • Shift
      • Mobility Report
      • Special Reports
      • Digital Edition Archive
      • This Week's Issue
    • OPINION
      • Blogs
      • Cartoons
      • Keith Crain
      • Automotive Views with Jason Stein
      • Columnists
      • China Commentary
      • Editorials
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Send us a Letter
    • DATA CENTER
    • VIDEO
      • AutoNews Now
      • First Shift
      • Special Video Reports
      • Weekend Drive
    • EVENTS & AWARDS
      • Events
        • World Congress
        • Retail Forum: NADA
        • Canada Congress
        • Marketing 360: L.A.
        • Europe Congress
        • Retail Forum: Chicago
        • Leading Women Conference Detroit
        • Retail Forum: Toronto
        • Fixed Ops Journal Forum
      • Awards
        • 100 Leading Women
          • Submit a nomination for 2020
        • 40 Under 40 Retail
        • All-Stars
        • Best Dealerships To Work For
        • PACE Awards
        • PACEpilot
        • Rising Stars
        • Europe Rising Stars
    • JOBS
    • +MORE
      • Leading Women Network
      • Podcasts
        • Shift: A Podcast About Mobility
        • Special Reports Podcasts
        • Weekend Drive Podcasts
      • Webinars
      • Publishing Partners
        • Ally: Do It Right
        • DealerSocket
        • Deloitte: Cyber everywhere: Preparing for automotive safety in the face of cyber threats
        • Facebook: The road to a zero-friction future
        • Guide To Economic Development
        • PayPal Credit: How consumer financing helps drive sales for online auto parts retailers
      • Classifieds
      • People on the Move
      • Newsletters
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • RSS Feeds