• Will head Ford’s world-class teams that are influencing and advancing progress in areas like technology, trade and sustainability, amid rapid transformation in transportation
• A former U.S. Department of Energy general counsel, Croley also served as senior lawyer and regulatory policy advisor in White House under President Obama

DEARBORN, Mich., July 7, 2021 – Ford has selected former U.S. federal lawyer Steven Croley to become its chief policy officer and general counsel, as the company continues to ramp up its capabilities and influence around the globe in rapidly evolving areas such as connectivity, electric vehicles and digital services.

Croley, 55, who joins Ford on July 12, will help the company further leverage and build on its strengths in government relations, sustainability, safety, legal and privacy.

“Steve has deep leadership experience at the intersection of law and policy and will add strength to our terrific legal, government relations and sustainability teams,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley.  “His background will be invaluable as we partner with governments and others to speed development of breakthrough products and services that help give more people the freedom to move and pursue their dreams.”

The new policy leadership role was anticipated last October when Farley became CEO and announced organizational changes to help the company fulfill its customer-first Ford+ plan for growth and value creation.  Croley will report to Farley and work closely with Jon Huntsman, a member of the Ford board of directors who in April was appointed vice chair, Policy, an internal senior advisory role to Farley and Executive Chair Bill Ford.

John Mellen, who postponed his planned retirement from Ford a year ago to take on the role of general counsel, will conclude his exceptional career with the company on Sept. 1, following transition of his legal responsibilities to Croley.

“For 40 years, John has helped safeguard our customers, our company and our people with his sharp legal expertise, sound judgment and principled approach,” said Farley.  “We deeply appreciate John’s leadership over the past year as our general counsel and a member of our executive leadership team.”

Mitch Bainwol, Ford’s chief government relations officer, and Bob Holycross, vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering – both company officers – will report to Croley.  So will Rebecca Pagani, who is joining Ford from Amazon on July 12 as chief privacy officer, illustrating Ford’s commitment to staying ahead in protecting and employing customer and company data.  As a senior corporate counsel at Amazon, Pagani advised on issues and policy related to e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and artificial intelligence businesses.

Most recently, Croley has been a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Latham & Watkins.  As a member of the law firm’s litigation and trial department, he has assisted clients with legal policy and regulatory compliance, with emphasis on energy and the environment.  From 2014 to 2017, he served as general counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy.  Croley spent the previous four years in the White House, first as special assistant to President Obama for regulatory policy, then as deputy counsel overseeing legal policy.

Earlier, Croley was a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan’s Civil Division, and a professor, then associate dean, at the University of Michigan Law School.  He did his undergraduate work at U-M, earned his law degree from Yale University, and holds a doctorate in government from Princeton University.