Ford's quality chief, Lincoln president to retire

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that three top executives, including the president of its Lincoln luxury brand, will retire in the coming months as CEO Jim Farley continues to shuffle his leadership team.

Joy Falotico, 55, who has run Lincoln since 2018, and Stuart Rowley, 55, Ford's chief transformation and quality officer, will both retire Dec. 1, the automaker said. Steven Armstrong, 58, the company's vice president of India and South America transformation, 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.

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 — 61 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.

Falotico, one of Automotive News' 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry and a former Automotive News All-Star, joined Ford out of college and started her career as a customer service representative on the finance side of the business before rising to become CEO of Ford Credit. In addition to her Lincoln duties, she was Ford's chief marketing officer before the company hired Suzy Deering in 2020.

"Joy has been a wonderful steward of Lincoln, building out its distinctive lineup of vehicles and experiences, polishing the Lincoln brand image, and overseeing a promising growth strategy in China," Farley said. "As Lincoln embarks on its second century, it is well positioned to flourish with a new generation of electric and connected vehicles."

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.

Ford shares closed down 2.54 percent Tuesday, at $13.06.

Editor's note: Ford has issued 61 recalls so far in 2022. Because of an editing error, a previous version of this story used an incorrect recall figure.