Ford President Kumar Galhotra told Gary Gastelu of Fox News Autos that the automaker is in a good position to take advantage of Biden’s plan to electrify the fleet of federal vehicles.
The Ford Motor Company appointed two descendants of the fifth generation of founder Henry Ford to its board, deepening the family’s involvement in the automaker’s corporate governance.
The company said Alexandra Ford English, 33, and Henry Ford III, 40, will run for election at Ford’s annual shareholders’ meeting in May. Both are great-great-grandchildren of Henry Ford, who founded the company at the turn of the last century. Mrs. Ford English is the daughter of current executive chairman Bill Ford.
If the two are elected, three of the company’s 14 board seats will be held by members of the Ford family. There are currently two descendants of the founder on the board, Ford and his 72-year-old cousin Edsel Ford II, who will retire from the board this semester, the company said.
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His appointments would extend a history of family supervision at the 118-year-old automaker. Mrs. Ford English’s 63-year-old father has served as executive chairman since 2006 and was executive director and chairman of the board before that.
Edsel Ford II, father of Henry Ford III, has been a director since the late 1980s. Elena Ford, a great-great-grandfather of the founder, is Ford’s director of customer experience.
In an interview, Bill Ford said the company’s family ties provide a long-term perspective that benefits shareholders and employees. He cited the 2008-09 financial crisis, when the company avoided bankruptcy by mortgaging most of its assets, including the blue Ford logo, while rivals General Motors Co. and Chrysler were undergoing government-led restructuring.
“The family’s involvement in the company produced real and tangible results,” said Ford. “The family has been very willing to accept short-term pain, without dividends, to take us through difficult times.”
The Ford family’s supervoting class B shares give it 40% of the voting power and effective control over the company. Bill Ford has accumulated an increasing percentage of Class B shares in recent years, totaling around 20% in February 2020, according to regulatory documents.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | FORD MOTOR CO. | 13.40 | +0.61 | + 4.77% |
Ford said he continues to increase his stake because he is confident in the company’s future.
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“All the different business opportunities that lie ahead of us are really attractive,” he said.
Charles Elson, a finance professor at the University of Delaware specializing in corporate governance, said it would be unusual for three family members to serve on the board of a large publicly traded company, even one with a two-class voting structure.
“It means more influence and more voice for the family, assuming the directors vote together,” said Elson.
Nell Minow, vice president of consultancy ValueEdge Advisors and a longtime advocate for shareholder rights, said adding two Ford employees to the board would go against the corporate trend of having a greater concentration of independent directors.
Ford’s shares have soared since the fall at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, when investors fled the automotive sector amid disruptions in factories and the supply chain. The stock price has risen 46% this year and has tripled since March 2020.
Alexandra Ford English and Henry Ford III, two great-grandsons of Henry Ford, who founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903, were appointed to the company’s board of directors
Ford CEO Jim Farley took over in October, tasked with rejuvenating a company that has seen operating profit drop for five consecutive years. Farley emphasized solving Ford’s troublesome quality problems and encouraging the provision of digital services.
Ford said the company’s 11 independent directors oversaw the assessment of the two youngest Ford during the nomination process and that he and Edsel Ford II were not involved.
He said that the younger Fords provide a new perspective and knowledge of the company and the areas of growth it aims at. His daughter, for example, spent time as a manager in operations within the company’s driverless car division, he said.
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Ms. Ford English joined Ford in 2017 after working in fashion retail, including a stint at Gap Inc. She quickly rose through the ranks of Ford, now serving as director of corporate strategy.
She is also a director of Rivian Automotive LLC, the electric truck startup in which Ford has a minority stake and strategic partnership.
Henry Ford III has been with Ford for 15 years and is now director of investor relations, after working in labor relations and as a marketing manager for Ford’s high-performance car division.