List of leaders of Ford Motor Company
Appearance
CEO and Chairman
The position of CEO and Chairman have been assumed as a single position, unless noted (CEOs who were not Chairman were generally President at the time). Since 2006, the role of President has been absorbed into the role of Executive Chairman.[1]
Number | Name | Took office | Left office | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John S. Gray | 1903 | 1906 | CEO |
2 | Henry Ford[2] | 1906 | 1945 | CEO |
3 | Henry Ford II[2] | 1945 | 1979 | CEO |
- | Ernest R. Breech[2] | 1955 | 1960 | Chairman |
- | Henry Ford II[3] | 1960 | March 13, 1980 | Chairman |
4 | Philip Caldwell[4][5] | 1979 | February 1, 1985 | CEO |
- | Philip Caldwell[3][4][5] | March 13, 1980 | February 1, 1985 | Chairman |
5 | Donald Petersen[5][6] | February 1, 1985 | March 1, 1990 | CEO and Chairman |
6 | Harold Arthur Poling[6] | March 1, 1990 | 1993 | CEO and Chairman |
7 | Alex Trotman | November 1993 | December 31, 1998 | CEO and Chairman |
8 | Jacques Nasser[7] | January 1, 1999 | 2001 | CEO |
- | William Clay Ford, Jr. | January 1, 1999 | September 5, 2006 | Chairman |
9 | William Clay Ford, Jr.[8] | October 30, 2001 | September 5, 2006 | CEO |
- | William Clay Ford, Jr.[8] | September 5, 2006 | Present | Executive Chairman |
10 | Alan Mulally | September 5, 2006 | July 1, 2014 | CEO |
11 | Mark Fields | July 1, 2014 | May 22, 2017 | CEO |
12 | Jim Hackett | May 22, 2017 | September 30, 2020 | CEO |
13 | Jim Farley[9] | October 1, 2020 | Present | CEO |
President
The President of Ford Motor Company was a role at the company from 1903 to 2006, with three noted vacancies after Semon Knudsen was fired in 1969, after two vice chairmans were appointed in 1987, and Philip Benton Jr's retirement on January 1, 1993.[10][11][12] The title of President has not been assumed since the retirement of Jim Padilla in 2006 and the shifting of the role's responsibilities to Chief Executive Chairman, William Clay Ford, Jr.[1]
Number | Name | Took office | Left office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John S. Gray[13] | June 17, 1903 | October 22, 1906 | |
2 | Henry Ford[13] | October 22, 1906 | January 1, 1919 | |
3 | Edsel Ford[13] | January 1, 1919 | May 26, 1943 | |
4 | Henry Ford[13] | May 26, 1943 | September 21, 1945 | |
5 | Henry Ford II[13] | September 21, 1945 | November 9, 1960 | |
6 | Robert S. McNamara[13] | November 9, 1960 | January 1, 1961 | |
7 | John Dykstra[13] | January 1, 1961 | May 1, 1963 | |
8 | Arjay Miller[13] | May 1, 1963 | February 6, 1968 | |
9 | Semon Emil "Bunkie" Knudsen[13][14] | February 6, 1968 | September 1969 | |
Office vacant September 1969 – December 10, 1970 | ||||
- | Robert Hampson[10] | 1969 | 1970 | President of Non-Automotive |
- | Robert Stevenson[10] | 1969 | 1970 | President of Automotive International |
- | Lee Iacocca[10] | 1969 | 1970 | President of Automotive North America |
10 | Lee Iacocca[10][13][15][14] | December 10, 1970 | July 13, 1978 | |
11 | Philip Caldwell[3][16] | October 16, 1978 | March 13, 1980 | |
12 | Donald Petersen[3][13] | March 13, 1980 | February 1, 1985 | |
13 | Harold Arthur Poling[5][13][11] | February 1, 1985 | October 13, 1987 | |
Office vacant October 13, 1987 – 1990 | ||||
14 | Philip Benton[12] | 1990 | January 1, 1993 | |
Office vacant January 1, 1993 – 1999 | ||||
15 | Jacques Nasser[2] | 1999 | 2001 | |
16 | William Clay Ford, Jr.[2][13] | 2001 | 2001 | |
17 | Nick Schelle[17] | October 2001 | 2004 | President and COO |
17 | Nick Schelle | April 2004 | February 2005 | President |
18 | Jim Padilla[1] | February 2005 | 2006 | President and COO |
References
- ^ a b c "Ford President, COO Jim Padilla To Retire". Motor Trend. April 21, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Ford Motor Company chronology". Henry Ford Museum. Archived from the original on February 10, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Henry Ford II gives up chairmanship at Ford". Democrat and Chronicle. 1980-03-14. p. 7D. Retrieved 2021-01-18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Have you driven a Ford Lately? Thanks to Donald Peterson you may want to". Washington Monthly. October 1986. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Caldwell Leaves as Chairman of Ford Motor Co". The Los Angeles Times. 1985-02-02. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ a b Gardner, Greg (1990-02-27). "Petersen hands over Ford's keys". Detroit Free Press. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-01-18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jacques Nasser". NPR. July 27, 2000. Archived from the original on October 20, 2002. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ a b "Nasser out as Ford CEO". CNN. October 30, 2001. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "James D. Farley, Jr". Ford Media. October 1, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Iacocca Before Chrysler - Ford". lehigh.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
- ^ a b Spelich, John (1987-10-14). "2 units formed at Ford". Detroit Free Press. p. 7B. Retrieved 2021-01-18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Ford reshuffles top ranks". The Baltimore Sun. November 13, 1992. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Ford Motor Co. Chronology, 1903-2003". The Henry Ford Museum. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ a b "Henry II ends Iacocca's quest for the top spot at Ford Motor". Automotive News. June 16, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "Lee Iacocca, Visionary Automaker Who led Both Ford and Chrysler, Is Dead at 94". The New York Times. July 2, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Terry (1978-09-15). "Philip Caldwell named president of Ford Co". Chicago Tribune. p. 76. Retrieved 2021-01-18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nick Scheele, former president and COO of Ford, dies at age 70". Automotive News. July 18, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2021.