Farley, 58, has a deep love for Ford.
He spent the first 17 years of his career at Toyota, where he launched the Scion brand and served as general manager of the Lexus division, before Ford hired him away in 2007.
Ford dealers gave him a standing ovation after a passionate speech about six months later, The New York Times reported. “I believe, in many ways, the future of Ford is the future of our country,” Farley told 1,400 dealers who had gathered in Las Vegas. “The work here is simply more important than the work I was doing at Toyota.”
He traces his love for the automaker back to his grandfather, Emmet Tracy, who worked for Henry Ford in the early 1900s.
Farley lists his grandfather as a mentor, citing his humility and that he rode a bike to work into his 90s. When Farley would visit him over the holidays, they would page through issues of Automotive News.
Farley also credits Wayne Rainey, a champion motorcycle racer who became paralyzed after a crash, as a great friend and inspiration who has taught him a number of life lessons.
He says has learned a lot, at least from a business perspective, from Hackett.
“I, for one, have been changed as a leader because of Jim Hackett,” Farley said. “Not only for his ambition for the company, that we will not cede our future to anyone including technology companies, but his ability to bring new ways of thinking into Ford that stick, that don’t fall off the wall.”
