Ford Recruits Lexus / Toyota's Jim Farley To Run Marketing & Communications

Staff Report

“My connection with Ford goes way back to my first car, a 1966 Ford Mustang. I bought it when I was 15, restored it and drove it from California to Michigan. I am excited to make that trip once again,” said Farley

10-11-07: In a news making move, Ford Motor Company President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally today announced the appointment of Jim Farley as Group Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Farley joins Ford in mid-November, after nearly two decades at Toyota and Lexus.

This is another major defection of top management from Toyota in the past couple months to an American automaker. Jim Press who had lead Toyota of America we recently recruited by the new Chrysler LLC as their new Vice President. Now Jim Farley who used to report to Jim Press is working for the cross-town rival.

“We are thrilled to welcome one of the most successful and talented leaders in the industry to the Ford Motor Company team,” said Mulally. “Jim Farley is well known for innovative marketing strategies that connect great products to today’s and tomorrow’s customers. Ford’s quality and vehicles are now on par with the best of the competition. We look forward to Jim’s leadership to combine world-class marketing with our world-class products worldwide.”

Farley will be the company’s most senior marketing leader and will report directly to Mulally.

Working with the company’s worldwide business unit leaders and global product development organization, Farley will lead Ford’s drive to connect even more closely with customers through integrated marketing, advertising, digital communications, brand development, product planning, research, product communications and public relations. In line with that vision, Ford’s global Communications and public relations team also now will report to Farley.

Farley, 45, most recently was Group Vice President and General Manager of Lexus, responsible for all sales, marketing and customer satisfaction activities for Toyota’s luxury brand. He joined Toyota in 1990 in the strategic-planning department after receiving his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School. Since then, he has served in such senior leadership positions as Vice President and General Manager of Toyota’s Scion brand, Group Vice President of Marketing for the Toyota Division, General Manager of Product Management for Toyota Europe and a variety of product planning, marketing and advertising roles.

Farley says he is passionate about joining Ford in this global leadership role and is eager to help lead the company’s transformation plan toward automotive leadership and profitable growth.

“My connection with Ford goes way back to my first car, a 1966 Ford Mustang. I bought it when I was 15, restored it and drove it from California to Michigan. I am excited to make that trip once again,” said Farley. “Ford is one of the world’s most admired companies because of its ability to develop iconic products that connect with customers. I look forward to building on that strength by engaging customers and introducing even more of them to the great family of Ford.”

So what does it mean? Hopefully it means that some of the magic that has helped to build Toyota and Lexus into the powerhouse it has been in the past 20 years will rub off on Ford. While Ford and other American automakers sales and market share has dwindled during that timeframe, Toyota has been the company gobbling it up.

Ford's move to bring a rockstar like Farley into the game says that they are serious about turning the tide. This is especially significant given that much of the criticism of Ford in the past decade or so has been in the area of weak marketing schemes and less than competitive product planning. We will be watching.