T
he change comes at a crucial moment for the storied auto-
maker: COO Jim Farley will become Ford Motor Company’s
CEO in October, succeeding Jim Hackett, whose $11 billion
restructuring plan did little to boost sales or stock performance.
Farley has had a three-decade automotive career and deep family ties
to the industry—in contrast to Hackett, who ran an offi ce-furniture
fi rm for more than 20 years before joining Ford.
Farley, whose grandfather started working on the Ford assembly
line in 1914, was hired by Toyota in 1990, where he served in a
number of marketing roles until he was promoted to general manager
of the company’s luxury Lexus brand. He joined Ford in 2007 as
global head of marketing and sales, moving through the ranks until
he was picked in 2019 to lead the new businesses, technology and
strategy team and, shortly after, as COO.
Experience alone, however, likely won’t be enough to help Ford
regain momentum.
In the top job, Farley will have to complete the multiyear turn-
around his predecessor began, and launch key products such as the
redesigned F-150 truck, a new lineup of Bronco SUVs and the SUV
makeover of the Mustang—all while keeping Ford competitive in
an industry being transformed by artifi cial intelligence, hypercon-
nectivity, sharing platforms and autonomous driving.
Nathan Furr, an author of best-selling books on leadership and
professor of innovation and technology strategy at Insead, applauds
Ford’s wide-ranging attempts to broaden its investment in new
mobility paradigms and explore diff erent business models. “At the
same time,” he says, “successful innovation always depends on solv-
ing a real customer need; and I wonder if all of these initiatives are
always truly focused on that need.”
Farley’s advantage, Furr argues, is his experience leading some
of these innovation programs. “His challenge, however, is that
he brings the industry-insider mindset, which may limit his abil-
ity to react to the architectural shifts occurring in the industry.”
Nevertheless, the new CEO seems capable of balancing the need
for the new and the demands of the old, and “that may be his best
qualifi cation,” Furr concludes. —LVBANK OF AMERICA
An HR Lifer Tackles CovidNORTH AMERICA
A New Leader
For Ford’s MakeoverD
uring the 2008 fi nancial crisis, the chief fi nan-
cial offi cer was the go-to colleague and adviser
for most CEOs. This time, the head of human
resources—the chief “people offi cer”—is the chief exec-
utive’s key lieutenant, as companies struggle to manage
the Covid-19 pandemic’s upending of the workplace.
Case in point is Sheri Bronstein, chief human
resources offi cer at Bank of America (BofA). Before the
pandemic struck, Bronstein was already considered an
HR lifer, having navigated the 2008 meltdown and the
complex integration of thousands of new employees
after BofA’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
In March, BofA announced it will make no layoffs
related to Covid-19 in 2020, even though the bank
had to reorganize itself quickly. Within weeks, 185,
teammates were work-
ing from home, with
15,000 redployed into
new roles.
CEO Brian Moynihan
agreed with Bronstein
that the bank needed
to take measures to
ease stress on its
212,000-strong work-
force regardless of
where they work. Until
December 31, they can
claim $75 or $100 per
day in child care reim-
bursements for children
up to age 12.
The benefit eases
back-to-school uncer-
tainties for employees
with families, and that
makes BofA part of a
rare breed of employer.
According to the
Institute for Corporate Productivity, less than one-third
of American companies have offered emergency child
care leave in response to Covid-19; yet, nearing the
end of summer, a million days of child care had already
been recorded.
Bronstein has also initiated free online access to doc-
tors and mental health specialists, lunch delivery to front-
line workers and supplemental overtime pay.
—Caroline CrosdaleSheri B. Bronstein, Chief HR
Offi cer, Bank of AmericaNEWSMAKERS
6 | Global Finance | September 2020SHUTTERSTOCK.COMJim Hackett