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James HackettAmerican entrepreneur
Date of Birth: 22.04.1955
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Jim Hackett: A Business Leader with a Legacy
- Education
- Family
- Early Career
- Steelcase: A Three-Decade Legacy
- Innovations and Acquisitions
- Industry Contributions
- Ford Motor Company: Leading Through Transformation
- Leading Ford Smart Mobility
- CEO and Transformation
- Other Affiliations
- Retirement and Legacy
Jim Hackett: A Business Leader with a Legacy
BackgroundDr. James A. Hackett, Jr., is an American businessman who served as the CEO of Ford Motor Company from May 22, 2017, to October 1, 2020. Hackett's family originally emigrated from Counties Carlow and Galway, Ireland, to Central Ohio.
Education
Hackett graduated from the University of Michigan in 1977 with a Bachelor of General Studies degree. He was a center on the university's football team.
Family
Hackett and his wife, Kathy, have two sons. They reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Early Career
From 1977 to 1981, Hackett held sales and management positions at Procter & Gamble in Detroit, Michigan.
Steelcase: A Three-Decade Legacy
Executive LeadershipIn 1981, Hackett joined Steelcase, an office furniture manufacturer based in Grand Rapids. He held various sales and marketing roles before being named CEO at the age of 39 in 1994, becoming the company's youngest-ever CEO. He led Steelcase for nearly two decades before retiring in 2014.
Innovations and Acquisitions
Under Hackett's leadership, Steelcase laid off nearly 12,000 employees in a business downsizing and restructuring. He also led the company's majority stake acquisition of IDEO in 1996, fostering Hackett's advocacy for design thinking.
Industry Contributions
Hackett served as vice chairman of Steelcase from 2014 to 2015. He was also interim athletic director at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, from October 31, 2014, to March 11, 2016. During his tenure, he hired former San Francisco 49ers coach and Michigan alumnus Jim Harbaugh as the university's football coach.
Ford Motor Company: Leading Through Transformation
Board of DirectorsIn 2013, Hackett joined the board of directors of Ford Motor Company. He served on the Sustainability and Innovation Committee, as well as the Audit and Nominating and Governance committees.
Leading Ford Smart Mobility
Hackett oversaw the creation of Ford Smart Mobility, a division responsible for experimenting with car-sharing programs, autonomous vehicle ventures, and other programs designed to help Ford better compete with Uber, Alphabet Inc., and other tech giants aiming to gain an edge in the automotive industry.
CEO and Transformation
On May 22, 2017, Hackett succeeded Mark Fields as president and CEO of Ford Motor Company. Amidst efforts to address the company's declining stock price and boost profits, Ford announced a global workforce reduction. The company targeted $3 billion in cost savings and a nearly 10% reduction in salaried workforce in Asia and North America to increase earnings in 2018.
Other Affiliations
Hackett serves on the boards of Northwestern Mutual Life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Steelcase Foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is also a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the National Center for the Performing Arts, and the advisory boards of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan. Additionally, he is a former president of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Retirement and Legacy
In January 2019, Hackett sent an email to Ford employees stating that "2018 was mediocre by any measure. Yes, we did earn $7 billion last year. But think of it this way: That's a 4.4 percent operating margin, about half of what I believe is an appropriate margin for us. So, we are aiming to get well north of $14 billion."
On August 4, 2020, Ford announced that COO Jim Farley would succeed Jim Hackett as CEO of Ford on October 1, 2020. Hackett retired and became special advisor until March 2021.
