Ford of Europe boss, Lincoln chief to retire

DETROIT -- Ford Motor said that three top executives will retire in the coming months as CEO Jim Farley continues to shuffle his leadership team.

Stuart Rowley, 55, Ford's head of Europe and its chief transformation and quality officer, and Joy Falotico, 55, who has run the U.S.-focused Lincoln brand since 2018, will both retire Dec. 1, the automaker said. Steven Armstrong, 58, the company's vice president of India and South America transformation and a former top executive at Ford of Europe, will retire Jan. 1.

Ford said Jim Baumbick, currently vice president of product development operations, cycle planning and internal combustion engine programs, will oversee quality.

Dianne Craig, 58, president of Ford's International Markets Group, will succeed Falotico as Lincoln's president.

Farley praised Rowley's work in Europe to shift Ford's focus to electric vehicles.

The automaker said last week it will stop building the Fiesta small car in Cologne, Germany, by next summer, a year earlier than planned. At the same time as Fiesta output stops, production of Ford's new Volkswagen-based all-electric crossover will begin, also a year earlier than planned.

"No matter the role, Stuart has always taken on tough challenges and led positive change," Farley said. "I'm especially grateful to Stuart for leading the redesign of our European business to become much leaner and focused on our commercial vehicles business and transition to EVs."

The automaker did not initially name Rowley's successor. The head of passenger cars in Europe, Martin Sander, who has been in office since June 2022, is to head Ford's EV business starting Jan. 1. His title was previously general manager passenger vehicles Ford of Europe.

Ford said it is accelerating its electrification efforts. The company plans for all its passenger vehicles in Europe to be fully electric by 2030 and all its vehicles by 2035.

The moves come as Ford has struggled to combat quality issues on high-profile vehicles. It has issued more recalls than any other automaker in 2022 -- 18 recalls covering nearly 7.6 million U.S. vehicles, according to NHTSA.

"Quality is our No. 1 priority as a company and Jim Baumbick is the right leader to deliver world-class quality and reliability at Ford with a disciplined process that runs from our supply chain to our engineering labs all the way to the factory floor," Farley said in a statement.

Ford said Wednesday that Josh Halliburton, executive director of quality, now will report to Baumbick.

Craig brings experience in a number of areas including sales, marketing, field operations and dealer relations, Ford said.

"With Dianne's global experience, her success in strengthening Ford's IMG operations and her deep respect and knowledge of our dealer network, combined with her passion for Lincoln, Dianne is an incredible leader to advance the Lincoln brand," Farley said.

The automaker said a successor for Craig will be named later.

Armstrong, who has been with the company for 35 years, has served in a number of top leadership roles, including as president of Ford of Europe.

"Steve's leadership has been critical to the significant improvement we have seen in many of our international markets," Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue, said in a statement. "He has taken challenging assignments in the Ford world and always made a positive difference."

Ford said responsibility for the company's business in South America now will be part of Ford Blue under Galhotra, and Ford's India operations will become part of the International Markets Group unit. Additionally, Ford Business Solutions will report to Mike Amend, Ford's chief enterprise technology officer.

Automobilwoche contributed