Ford plans to make Lucid and Waymo veteran its new CFO, as EV demand remains in flux

By Bill Peters

Sherry House 'adds an important leadership dimension to Ford as we urgently build a profitable EV business,' CEO says

Ford Motor Co. is bringing aboard a veteran of the electric- and autonomous-vehicle industries who is set to become its new chief financial officer next year, the automaker said Friday, as it rethinks its approach to a cooling electric-vehicle industry.

Ford (F) said that Sherry House, who was most recently the chief financial officer of electric-vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group Inc. (LCID), will join the company next month and initially start as its vice president of finance. House's hiring, Ford said, was part of a plan for her to succeed its current chief financial officer, John Lawler, early next year.

Shares of Ford were down 1.2% on Friday. The stock has wobbled over the past 12 months, notching only a 1% gain over that time.

Lawler, who has been Ford's chief financial officer since October 2020, will stay in that role for the time being and also become vice chair starting next month, the company said.

House served as Lucid's chief financial officer for nearly three years before leaving that role in December. Over that time, Ford noted, Lucid went public and opened production plants in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Before that, House worked at Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG) (GOOGL) autonomous-car company Waymo.

Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said in a statement that House "adds an important leadership dimension to Ford as we urgently build a profitable EV business, generate new and recurring revenue streams, and create a more dynamic and resilient company."

Before she becomes CFO, House will handle financial-planning analysis for Ford's automobile businesses. As Ford brings abroad more employees and executives from the tech industry, Lawler will focus more on what kind of technology the company will use, as well as its business alliances and interests abroad, Ford said.

Electric-vehicle sales have been hit by greater competition and slowing demand. Early adoption has largely run its course, and concerns persist about charging infrastructure in the U.S.

However, Ford's hybrid vehicles have become more popular. Sales of Ford hybrids jumped 36% in the first quarter, and demand for the company's work trucks helped counterbalance weakness in its EV business.

Ford itself has also backed away from bigger bets it had placed on fully self-driving cars. Regulators recently opened an investigation into two fatal accidents allegedly involving some of Ford's advanced driver-assistance features.

Claudia Assis contributed.

-Bill Peters

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05-10-24 1530ET

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