New Role Has Ford's Farley at Cross-Purposes

Ford Motor Co.'s Jim Farley wears many hats. And they don't necessarily complement each other.

“It's been transformational for me,” Farley tells Ward's of his expanded role at the world's fourth-largest auto maker.

Originally hired to guide Ford's marketing and communications strategies, the former Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. executive has been, since Sept. 1, responsible for the auto maker's operations in Canada, Mexico and South America.

These additional duties put Farley in an exclusive but growing club of multi-taskers that includes Chrysler Group LLC's design chief Ralph Gilles, who also oversees the Dodge brand.

Now, Farley finds himself at cross-purposes. For instance, in past dealings with Ford product-development guru Derrick Kuzak, “it was always easy for me to say to Derrick, ‘We need to reduce the cost of that next product,’” Farley tells Ward's.

“Now, I'm going to lots of meetings where I have to judge the cost of a product that my purchasing team developed the cost on,” he adds. “It's really an odd but interesting and important development for me personally.”

The chance to tackle such challenges is among the reasons Farley joined Ford in 2007.

Ironically, returning to his native Michigan also was among his reasons for joining Ford. But his new duties require extensive travel, so his office at Ford's Dearborn headquarters often is empty.

Of the regions for which he is responsible, Farley lists South America — particularly Brazil — as his greatest test.

Brazil is Ford's third-largest market. Despite the global economic downturn, the auto maker's sales there totaled 256,566 through October — a 5.3% jump compared with like-2008's 243,727, according to Ward's data.

“Brazil is an anchor for us globally,” Farley says. “Products like the EcoSport (cross/utility vehicle) have transformed our image in Brazil and account for a significant amount of our profitability. It came from South America and is potentially a global product.”

Ford announced it is investing $2.26 billion to boost output in Brazil, where the company is the fourth-largest auto maker.