Ford Announces New CEO
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Ford has appointed a new CEO to replace Mark Fields, who had been with the company for 28 years. Jim Hackett joined Ford's board in 2013 from Steelcase, and he'll have three new leaders reporting to him. A New York Times article describes Fields' less-than-stellar performance as CEO:
During Mr. Fields's three-year tenure - a period when Ford's shares dropped 40 percent - he came under fire from investors and the company's board for failing to expand the company's core auto business and for lagging in developing the high-tech cars of the future. . . .
The board's decision to change management was made on Friday, eight days after Mr. Fields had been sharply criticized during the company's annual shareholders' meeting for Ford's deteriorating financial results.
Ford has faced safety recalls and has been struggling against GM and Google to develop a self-driving car. The board said Fields' retirement decision was mutual.
The company's news release included this quote from the chairman about Fields: 
Mark Fields has been an outstanding leader and deserves a lot of credit for all he has accomplished in his many roles around the globe at Ford," Bill Ford said. "His strong leadership was critical to our North American restructuring, our turnaround at the end of the last decade, and our record profits in the past two years.
Discussion:
- Read the full press release. Describe the audience, objectives, and structure. What's the purpose of the summary bullets at the top?
- Should the company's press release have said more or something different about Fields? Does the quotation seem to reflect reality?
