Doug Field, Ford’s Top EV and Technology Executive, to Depart Amid Company-Wide Leadership Restructuring

Doug Field, the prominent executive who guided Ford Motor Company’s electric vehicle (EV) and technology agendas over the last five years, is departing the U.S. automaker. His exit was revealed Wednesday as part of a sweeping overhaul of the company’s senior leadership team.

Field joined Ford’s executive ranks in 2021, bringing an extensive track record built across Silicon Valley: he previously led Apple’s confidential special projects group and held the role of senior vice president of engineering at Tesla. His return to Ford was far more than a homecoming to where he launched his career—Field got his professional start at the automaker working as a development engineer between 1987 and 1993. At the time of his hire, the move was explicitly intended to accelerate Ford CEO Jim Farley’s strategic goal of transforming the century-old legacy automaker into a global leader in software, electric vehicles, and cutting-edge automotive technology.

Reporting directly to Farley, Field’s initial remit covered the company’s embedded software and hardware operations, a broad portfolio that spanned vehicle controls, enterprise connectivity, new feature development, systems integration and validation, vehicle architecture and platform development, driver assistance technology, and digital engineering tools. In practice, this put him in full charge of the design, development, and rollout of the complete technology stack powering all Ford and Lincoln vehicles, encompassing everything from infotainment systems and navigation to driver-assist features, connected customer services, and vehicle cybersecurity.

Field was one of the most public-facing members of Ford’s leadership, and Farley frequently highlighted his work during the company’s quarterly earnings calls. He also served as a core executive leader when Ford split its core operations into three distinct business units: the dedicated EV and digital services division, the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) business, and the standalone commercial vehicles unit. Additionally, Field was the driving force behind Ford’s iconic skunkworks program—a confidential internal team tasked with building an affordable, low-cost electric vehicle.

Per the restructuring plan unveiled Wednesday, Ford has launched a new integrated division called product creation and industrialization, which will be led by the company’s current chief operating officer, Kumar Galhotra. The EV and vehicle design team that Field previously led will be fully absorbed into this new larger organization.

The restructured leadership team comes with a set of aggressive long-term targets, including hitting an 8% adjusted profit margin for the company’s Ford+ commercial business segment by 2029. The new division will also oversee Ford’s plan to refresh 80% of its North American vehicle portfolio (by sales volume) and 70% of its global lineup by 2029. Key upcoming products on the roadmap include the company’s new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, a mid-sized pickup truck, and the next-generation iterations of the F-150 and F-Series Super Duty trucks.

The UEV platform was originally developed by Field’s skunkworks initiative, which now operates under the official name of the Advanced Development Projects team. Alan Clarke, another former Tesla executive who has led the secretive development program to date, will now serve as vice president of Advanced Development Projects.