List of leaders of

Ford Motor
Company

CEOs and Chairmen

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]

CEO and Chairman of Ford Motor Company

No. 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 Alexander 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 James Hackett May 22, 2017 September 30, 2020 CEO

13 Jim Farley[9] October 1, 2020 Present CEO

Presidents
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-chairmen 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]
President of Ford Motor Company
No. Name Took office Left office Notes

October 22,
1 John S. Gray[13] June 17, 1903
1906

October 22,
2 Henry Ford[13] January 1, 1919
1906

3 Edsel Ford[13] January 1, 1919 May 26, 1943

September 21,
4 Henry Ford[13] May 26, 1943
1945

September 21, November 9,

5 Henry Ford II[13]
1945 1960

November 9,
6 Robert McNamara[13] January 1, 1961
1960

7 John Dykstra[13] January 1, 1961 May 1, 1963

8 Arjay Miller[13] May 1, 1963 February 6, 1968

9 Semon Knudsen[13][14] February 6, 1968 September 1969

Office vacant September 1969 – December 10, 1970

– Robert Hampson[10] 1969 1970 President of Non-Automotive

President of Automotive
– Robert Stevenson[10] 1969 1970
International

President of Automotive
– Lee Iacocca[10] 1969 1970
North America

December 10,
10 Lee Iacocca[10][13][15][14] July 13, 1978
1970

October 16,
11 Philip Caldwell[3][16] March 13, 1980
1978

12 Donald Petersen[3][13] March 13, 1980 February 1, 1985

Harold Arthur October 13,

13 February 1, 1985
Poling[5][13][11] 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

William Clay Ford,

16 2001 2001
Jr.[2][13]

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
1. "Ford President, COO Jim Padilla To Retire"
(https://www.motortrend.com/news/news0
60421-ford-padilla-retire/) . Motor Trend.
April 21, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
2. "Ford Motor Company chronology" (https://
web.archive.org/web/20140210022535/htt
p://hfmgv.org/exhibits/fmc/chrono.asp) .
Henry Ford Museum. Archived from the
original (http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/fm
c/chrono.asp) on February 10, 2014.
3. "Henry Ford II gives up chairmanship at
Ford" (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6
7932073/henry-ford-ii-gives-up-chairmanshi
p-at/) . Democrat and Chronicle. 1980-03-
14. p. 7D. Retrieved 2021-01-18 – via
Newspapers.com.
4. "Have you driven a Ford Lately? Thanks to
Donald Peterson you may want to" (https://
web.archive.org/web/20070311033314/htt
p://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1
316/is_v18/ai_4473382) . Washington
Monthly. October 1986. Archived from the
original (http://www.findarticles.com/p/arti
cles/mi_m1316/is_v18/ai_4473382) on
March 11, 2007. Retrieved January 10,
2021.
5. "Caldwell Leaves as Chairman of Ford
Motor Co" (https://www.newspapers.com/c
lip/67934033/caldwell-leaves-as-chairman-
of-ford/) . The Los Angeles Times. 1985-
02-02. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
6. Gardner, Greg (1990-02-27). "Petersen
hands over Ford's keys" (https://www.news
papers.com/clip/67936782/petersen-hand
s-over-fords-keys-27-feb/) . Detroit Free
Press. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-01-18 – via
Newspapers.com.
7. "Jacques Nasser" (https://web.archive.org/
web/20021020114244/https://www.npr.or
g/programs/npc/2000/000727.jnasser.htm
l) . NPR. July 27, 2000. Archived from the
original (https://www.npr.org/programs/np
c/2000/000727.jnasser.html) on October
20, 2002. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
8. "Nasser out as Ford CEO" (https://money.cn
n.com/2001/10/30/ceos/ford/) . CNN.
October 30, 2001. Retrieved January 10,
2021.
 9. "James D. Farley, Jr" (https://media.ford.co
m/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/people/ja
mes-d--farley--jr-.html#:~:text=James%20%
E2%80%9CJim%E2%80%9D%20D.,%2C%20
effective%20October%201%2C%202020.) .
Ford Media. October 1, 2020. Retrieved
January 10, 2021.
10. "Iacocca Before Chrysler - Ford" (https://om
eka.lehigh.edu/exhibits/show/iacocca/iaco
cca-before-chrysler/ford) . lehigh.edu.
Retrieved 2021-01-10.
11. Spelich, John (1987-10-14). "2 units formed
at Ford" (https://www.newspapers.com/cli
p/67938226/2-units-formed-at-ford-14-oct-
1987/) . Detroit Free Press. p. 7B. Retrieved
2021-01-18 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Ford reshuffles top ranks" (https://www.bal
timoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-11-13-1
992318023-story.html) . The Baltimore
Sun. November 13, 1992. Retrieved
January 10, 2021.
13. "Ford Motor Co. Chronology, 1903-2003" (ht
tps://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and
-research/digital-resources/popular-topics/
ford-company-chronology/) . The Henry
Ford Museum. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
14. "Henry II ends Iacocca's quest for the top
spot at Ford Motor" (https://www.autonew
s.com/article/20030616/SUB/306160775/
henry-ii-ends-iacocca-s-quest-for-the-top-sp
ot-at-ford-motor) . Automotive News. June
16, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
15. "Lee Iacocca, Visionary Automaker Who led
Both Ford and Chrysler, Is Dead at 94" (http
s://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/obituari
es/lee-iacocca-dead.html) . The New York
Times. July 2, 2019. Retrieved January 10,
2021.
16. Brown, Terry (1978-09-15). "Philip Caldwell
named president of Ford Co" (https://www.
newspapers.com/clip/67929282/philip-cal
dwell-named-president-of-ford/) . Chicago
Tribune. p. 76. Retrieved 2021-01-18 – via
Newspapers.com.
 17. "Nick Scheele, former president and COO of
Ford, dies at age 70" (https://www.autonew
s.com/article/20140718/OEM02/14071983
8/nick-scheele-former-president-and-coo-of
-ford-dies-at-age-70) . Automotive News.
July 18, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

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