Ex-Ford CEO Fields Tried to Oust Top Executive Before Being Fired, Report Claims

by Steph Willems

Published: May 31st, 2017

ex ford ceo fields tried to oust top executive before being fired report claims

There’s been no shortage of hot takes on former Ford CEO Mark Fields’ sudden departure from the big office in Dearborn, but a new report sheds light on the drama occurring at the Blue Oval shortly before Fields “elected to retire.”

Before his replacement by Jim Hackett, Fields reportedly attempted to fire Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, as a way of relieving growing scrutiny on his own performance. It didn’t go they way he had planned.

According to sources who spoke with Automotive News, Fields sought permission from the company’s board of directors to fire Hinrichs during the week of May 14th. Just days earlier, the CEO was grilled by investors angry over the company’s 40-percent slide in stock value since Fields took the helm. Board members were also very curious as to his plans for the company’s future, as well his strategy to turn around Ford’s flagging financial fortunes.

Hinrichs was the executive in charge of Ford’s extensive, aluminum-heavy revamp of the best-selling F-150. Still, sources claim that Fields felt he could take the heat off himself by giving Hinrichs the boot.

When the board met with Fields on May 19th, the exact opposite of what the CEO had hoped to achieve occurred. Sources claim the board made a decision to move on from Fields and his communications adviser Ray Day. Fields’ “resignation” was announced the following Monday.

Hindrichs, on the other hand, walked away with a big promotion. Instead of being shown the door, he was granted a new title: head of global operations, and a much larger presence within the company’s upper echelon. Neither Ford nor Fields has confirmed this is indeed what happened.

In introducing the new CEO on May 22nd, chairman Bill Ford described Fields’ successor in glowing terms, describing how Hackett and himself “always clicked in terms of thinking about the future.”

[Image: Ford Motor Company]

#BoardMembers #CarCompanyExecutives #Ford #JoeHinrichs #MarkFields

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 15 comments

Noble713 on Jun 01, 2017

When you play the Game of Thrones, either you win or....you get a golden parachute?

Like Reply
- Lorenzo on Jun 04, 2017
  
  Game of Thrones? It's not like getting fired in Detroit is a life or death matter. It's just corporate politics. The "golden parachute" is ordinary "go away and keep quiet for a decent interval" money. Fields is still a member of an exclusive club whose members move around, and will resurface with another automaker at a later date.
  
  Like
BklynPete on Jun 12, 2017

This puts my finger on why I found him sleazy. It wasn't the mullet. It was that he reminded me of the smart guy/teacher's pet who spilled something on the floor and blamed you. When you get down to it, Fields got to where he was as a corporate suck-up and behind-the-scenes backstabber. The fact that the silos went back up shows it.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Merc190 I would say Civic Si all the way if it still revved to 8300 rpm with no turbo. But nowadays I would pick the Corolla because I think they have a more clear idea on their respective models identity and mission. I also believe Toyota has a higher standard for quality.
Dave Holzman I think we're mixing up a few things here. I won't swear to it, but I'd be damned surprised if they were putting fire retardant in the seats of any cars from the '50s, or even the '60s. I can't quite conjure up the new car smell of the '57 Chevy my parents bought on October 17th of that year... but I could do so--vividly--until the last five years or so. I loved that scent, and when I smelled it, I could see the snow on Hollis Street in Cambridge Mass, as one or the other parent got ready to drive me to nursery school, and I could remember staring up at the sky on Christmas Eve, 1957, wondering if I might see Santa Claus flying overhead in his sleigh. No, I don't think the fire retardant on the foam in the seats of 21st (and maybe late 20th) century cars has anything to do with new car smell. (That doesn't mean new car small lacked toxicity--it probably had some.)
ToolGuy Is this a website or a podcast with homework? You want me to answer the QOTD before I listen to the podcast? Last time I worked on one of our vehicles (2010 RAV4 2.5L L4) was this past week -- replaced the right front passenger window regulator (only problem turned out to be two loose screws, but went ahead and installed the new part), replaced a bulb in the dash, finally ordered new upper dash finishers (non-OEM) because I cracked one of them ~2 years ago.Looked at the mileage (157K) and scratched my head and proactively ordered plugs, coils, PCV valve, air filter and a spare oil filter, plus a new oil filter housing (for the weirdo cartridge-type filter). Those might go in tomorrow. Is this interesting to you? It ain't that interesting to me. 😉The more intriguing part to me, is I have noticed some 'blowby' (but is it) when the oil filler cap is removed which I don't think was there before. But of course I'm old and forgetful. Is it worth doing a compression test? Leakdown test? Perhaps if a guy were already replacing the plugs...
Crown No surprise there. The toxic chemical stew of outgassing.
Spamvw Seeing the gear indicator made me wonder when PRNDL was mandated.Anyone?Anyone?1971