Ford Names Former Amazon Veteran as Next CFO --2nd Update

By Mike Colias and Nina Trentmann 

Ford Motor Co. has tapped an Amazon.com Inc. veteran as its new chief financial officer, reflecting a broader transformation at the 116-year-old auto maker as it tries to compete with Silicon Valley on new transportation technologies.

Tim Stone, who was previously CFO of Snap Inc. and before that at Amazon for 20 years, will succeed Bob Shanks effective June 1, Ford said Thursday. Mr. Shanks, who had been with Ford for more than four decades, will retire at the end of the year. He had been CFO since 2012.

Mr. Stone, 52 years old, will join Ford April 15 initially as an officer. Mr. Shanks, 66, will work closely with Mr. Stone on the CFO transition and then work on special projects through the end of the year, Ford said.

"Bob's leadership was integral to Ford's comeback during the great recession, and he has been an invaluable partner as we transform Ford to succeed in the next era," Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett said in prepared remarks.

During his tenure at Amazon, Mr. Stone led the finance function for the Kindle and other devices, digital content, and Amazon Web Services, among others, according to a statement provided by Ford from Tom Szkutak, Amazon's CFO from 2002 to 2015 and Mr. Stone's former boss.

In January, Snap said Mr. Stone was leaving the social-media company after less than a year on the job, and that he would stay on to help with the transition. His short tenure at the parent company of messaging app Snapchat was marked by executive turnover and share pressure as the company struggled to maintain user growth.

Ford recently has been under pressure after a string of quarterly results and profit forecasts that disappointed Wall Street. Mr. Hackett has embarked on a turnaround plan that includes slashing costs and redesigning the business to speed up vehicle development while reducing capital spending. He also wants to transform Ford's operations to better position it for a future where executives see technology giving consumers more alternatives to owning or driving a personal vehicle. Ford has invested in new micro-mobility ventures, such as buying an electric-scooter startup last year.

Some analysts have expressed frustration about the pace of his progress and have pressed him for more specifics about his plans to revive the business.

Ford recently began an $11 billion, multiyear restructuring that will include thousands of layoffs, mainly in overseas operations including Europe and South America. The No. 2 U.S. auto maker lost money in all its foreign regions last year, leaving its strong pickup-truck and SUV business in the U.S. to carry its bottom line.

Mr. Shanks has spent recent months trying to assure analysts and investors that the company will be able to maintain its investment-grade rating and preserve its dividend. Ratings firms have raised concerns about whether the turnaround efforts can produce results quickly enough to stave off a ratings downgrade.

Ford's operating profit fell 27% last year, to $7 billion, while its operating cash flow sank by about one-third, to $2.8 billion. Mr. Shanks said in January that Ford's balance sheet is solid and results should improve this year barring worse-than-expected impact from commodity costs, trade policy and other variables.

Mr. Stone's appointment is slightly out of character for both Ford and the broader auto industry that typically looks to lifelong insiders to promote to these roles, said Rich Kolpasky, head of the automotive practice at recruiter Stanton Chase. "This appointment is an unusual step for Ford. My first reaction was a little bit of surprise."

Moves like the appointment of Mr. Stone will, however, become more frequent as auto companies adjust to technological changes and to changing consumer behavior, Mr. Kolpasky said. "This appointment of an industry outsider coming to Ford with a high-tech background is just the beginning in the car industry. There will be many more of these executives to join the automotive industry."

The appointment could accelerate Ford's transformation from a traditional auto maker to a mobility provider, Mr. Kolpasky said, adding that Mr. Stone's experience at Amazon would be helpful in this regard. "At Amazon, Tim saw the business model change in a way that most companies have never seen. I think that is very relevant to where the auto industry is at the moment," Mr. Kolpasky said.

Mr. Stone's experience at once-nascent businesses -- as CFO of Amazon Web Services, now one of the fastest-growing parts of the web giant, for example -- will be useful at Ford, as the auto maker looks to grow its mobility business. "He seems to be bringing the right tools for Ford as it embarks on a tremendous transformation," said David Whiston, an analyst at Morningstar Inc.

A company outsider, Mr. Stone will have to strike a careful balance between driving change while also integrating into a company as traditional as Ford, said Mr. Whiston. "Bob Shanks was one of the public faces of Ford and wielded power not just in the finance function," Mr. Whiston said. "It will be interesting to see whether Mr. Stone will do that, too."

Aisha Al-Muslim contributed to this article.

Write to Mike Colias at [e-mail] and Nina Trentmann at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2019 18:14 ET (22:14 GMT)

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