Ford CEO Jim Farley eyes further improvements after five years of ‘surprises,’ including investor returns

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DETROIT — “A lot of surprises.” That’s how Ford Motor

CEO Jim Farley described his past five years leading the Detroit automaker, which he believes now has a solid foundation.

For Farley, who marks his fifth anniversary as CEO on Wednesday, there have been industry-wide problems to deal with, as well as Ford-specific issues that the company is still in the process of navigating.

The 63-year-old CEO has been working to make Ford more capital efficient, improve quality to reduce recall and warranty costs, and grow profit margins. That’s on top of industry-wide concerns about changing regulations, including tariffs, and shifting dynamics in electric and autonomous vehicle strategies.