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Ford Hires Sherry House as Vice President of Finance
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“How do we plan for the next 120 years so that my grandchildren have a stronger company than we have today?”
Sherry House has been hired as vice president of finance at Ford Motor Co. with plans to transition to the chief financial officer role in early 2025, the automaker announced Friday.
House, who left Lucid Motors as CFO in December, starts at Ford on June 3. She spent three years at Lucid, during a period when the company went public, began building and delivering luxury electric vehicles, and opened factories in the US and Saudi Arabia. Arabia, Ford said in a press release. Previously, House worked as treasurer, head of investor relations, corporate development and corporate finance at Waymo, a Mountain View, Calif.-based self-driving technology company owned by Google parent Alphabet.
“I am thrilled to be joining such an iconic company at this exciting and important time for Ford and the industry,” House said in the press release. “In my career, I have been fortunate to work as an executive, consultant and investor in the automotive and technology sectors, as well as venture capital and startups. I look forward to working with Ford’s world-class team and applying the breadth of my experience to help Ford compete and win.”
‘You don’t just want a number cruncher’
House will transition into a role now held by John Lawler, CFO since October 2020, who will assume the title of Vice President and focus on strategic development, future global partnerships and engaging world leaders on industry-critical policies in the advancing Ford’s success, the press release said.
This latest announcement hints at potentially attractive developments, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.
Hiring an engineer who understands finance and brings a wealth of varied experience bodes well for Ford, he said. “You don’t just want a numbers cruncher, but someone who understands how vehicles are assembled and where the money goes,” Fiorani said.
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Lucid is an engineering company that has “developed some fantastic batteries and showcased them in race cars and street cars,” he said. “Its technology has been proven in Formula E, placing its latest generation electric vehicles among the best on the market. They are fast, travel long distances and are among the most efficient.”
House held previous roles at Visteon, Deloitte Corporate Finance and Alta Partners, according to her LinkedIn Professional Account. She began her career at General Motors, working at GM and Delphi as a product engineer from 1994 to 1998 on projects including the GM Electric Vehicle (EV1) and the Chevrolet Malibu. She later worked in management roles in accounting and technology to cap off a decade at GM before heading to the San Francisco Bay Area.
She is one of the 10 best inventors of the year
In describing his early career, House’s profile says, “Project managed the 15-member Seating Systems product development team from concept inception through commercialization of Motor Trend’s ‘Car of the Year,’ Chevrolet Malibu Led the validation and testing of several automotive seating systems, including GM’s first electric car, EV1. Selected to lead the team in cost, efficiency and human resources analysis of four manufacturing operations around the world. Toyota Production System methodologies to identify $10 million in savings, improve labor utilization and improve operational efficiency, featured in major motion pictures and GM’s 100 mpg Ultralite concept car at the show. North American Automobile International received the Top 10 Inventor of the Year award for developing innovative products.
House earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University in 1994. She earned an MBA and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the press release: “Sherry adds an important dimension of leadership to Ford as we urgently build a profitable electric vehicle business, generate new and recurring revenue streams, and create a more dynamic and resilient. Sherry combines deep roots and passion for the automotive industry with real-world experience in investment banking, mobility and technology, including electric vehicles and autonomy.”
Ford does not disclose ages when announcing executive hires.
Farley said: “The progress we are making with Ford+ allows us to take these steps and drive a new level of strategic focus and execution.”
Here’s what’s next for CFO Lawler
Lawler’s talents will now be better utilized, Farley said.
While Lawler was already involved in strategy, partnerships and certain policy discussions, he will lean more aggressively into working with leaders around the world FordPro, Ford Blue and Model E units as a senior resource, Ford said.
Lawler, who spent nearly four years as president of Ford China during a period of record performance in the country, also oversaw Ford’s autonomous vehicles, mobility business and partnerships, was controller and CFO of global markets and worked for Ford in Europe, noted the company. in its press release.
“I am honored to take on this broader role, working with Jim to advance our global strategy and bringing my experience, knowledge and relationships across Ford+,” Lawler said in a statement. “This is a great challenge with great possibilities and I look forward to achieving it.”
Earlier this week, design director Anthony Lo announced your departure.
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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter @phoebesaid. Read more at Ford and register on our automobile newsletter.