Ford's new vice president of finance, Sherry House, began her career at GM

Sherry House has been hired as vice president of finance at Ford Motor Co. with plans to transition into the role of chief financial officer in early 2025, the automaker announced Friday.

House, who left Lucid Motors as CFO in December, begins at Ford on June 3. She spent three years at Lucid, during a period when the company went public, started building and delivering luxury electric vehicles, and opened factories in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, Ford said in a news release. Previously, House worked as treasurer, head of investor relations, corporate development and corporate finance at Waymo, the driverless technology company based in Mountain View, California, owned by Google's parent company Alphabet.

"I'm delighted to join such an iconic company at this exciting and important time for Ford and the industry," House said in the news release. "In my career, I have been fortunate to work as an executive, an adviser and an investor across the automotive and technology sectors, and in venture capital and startups. I look forward to working with Ford's world-class team and to applying the breadth of my experience to help Ford compete and win."

'You don't just want a numbers cruncher'

House will transition into a role now held by John Lawler, CFO since October 2020, who will assume the title of vice chair and focus on strategic development, future global partnerships and engaging world leaders on policy critical to the industry in advancing Ford's success, the news release said.

This latest announcement suggests potentially compelling developments, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.

The hiring of an engineer who understands finance and brings a wealth of varied experience bodes well for Ford, he said. "You don't just want a numbers cruncher but someone who understands how the vehicles are put together and where the money goes," Fiorani said.

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Lucid is an engineering firm that has "developed some fantastic batteries and displayed them in racing and street cars," he said. "Their technology was proven in Formula E, making their high-end electric vehicles among the best on the market. They're quick, go long distances and are among the most efficient."

House held previous roles at Visteon, Deloitte Corporate Finance and Alta Partners, according to her LinkedIn professional account. She began her career at General Motors, working at GM and Delphi as a product engineer from 1994 to 1998 on projects including the GM Electric Vehicle (EV1) and the Chevrolet Malibu. She later worked in managerial roles in accounting and technology to wrap up a decade with GM before heading to the San Francisco Bay Area.

She's a top 10 inventor of the year

In describing her early career, House's profile says, "Project managed 15-member seating system product development team from concept initiation through commercialization of the Motor Trend 'Car of the Year,' Chevrolet Malibu. Led validation and testing of several automotive seating systems, including GM’s first electric car, EV1. Selected to lead team in the cost, efficiency and human resource analysis of four worldwide manufacturing operations. Leveraged Toyota Production System methodologies to identify $10 million in savings, enhance labor utilization, and improve operational efficiency. Designed revolutionary fiber optic headlamp, showcased in major motion pictures and GM’s 100 mpg, Ultralite concept car at the North American International Auto Show. Received Top 10 Inventor of the Year award for development of innovative product."

House earned her bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering at Kettering University in 1994. She went on to earn an MBA and a master of engineering degree at the University of Michigan.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the news release, "Sherry adds an important leadership dimension to Ford as we urgently build a profitable EV business, generate new and recurring revenue streams, and create a more dynamic and resilient company. Sherry combines deep roots and passion for the auto industry with real-world experience in investment banking, mobility and technology, including EVs and autonomy."

Ford does not disclose ages when it announces executive hires.

Farley said, "The progress we're achieving with Ford+ enables us to make these moves and drive a new level of strategic focus and execution."

Here's what's next for CFO Lawler

Lawler's talents will now be better leveraged, Farley said.

While Lawler was already involved in strategy, partnerships and certain policy discussions, he's going to lean more aggressively into working with leaders throughout Ford Pro, Ford Blue and Model e units as a senior resource, Ford said.

Lawler, who spent nearly four years as president of Ford China during a period of record in-country performance, also oversaw Ford's autonomous vehicles, business and mobility partnerships, was controller and CFO of global markets and worked for Ford in Europe, the company noted in its news release.

"I'm honored to take on this broader role, working with Jim to advance our global strategy and bringing my experience, knowledge and relationships to bear through Ford+" Lawler said in a statement. "This is a great challenge with great possibilities and I'm eager to get after it."

Earlier this week, chief design officer Anthony Lo announced his departure.

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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter @phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford hires Sherry House as vice president of finance