Bradley M. Gayton is chief administrative officer and general counsel, effective June 1, 2017. In this role, Gayton leads the company’s litigation, corporate and intellectual property efforts. He also advises the company’s board of directors and senior management on a wide range of legal issues. His responsibilities also include leading Ford Land and Corporate Services efforts. He reports to Jim Hackett, Ford president and CEO.

Previously, Gayton was vice president and general counsel, a position to which he was named to in January 2016 when he also was elected a Ford Motor Company officer.

Gayton joined Ford’s Office of General Counsel in 1991. He has held positions of increasing responsibility within the department including serving as corporate secretary and assistant general counsel since April 2012. 

In the corporate secretary role, Gayton had direct responsibility as secretary to the Board of Directors and for related governance and legal matters. He led a team with responsibility for NYSE and SEC compliance and reporting, including annual and quarterly reporting, proxy statement and registration statements, as well as responsibility for supporting Ford’s Treasury operations in capital markets and debt financing transactions. He also led a team dedicated to providing legal counsel on privacy and data protection matters, including cross-border data transfers and data usage, and provided administrative oversight of Ford’s global compliance function.

Previously, he was director of Legal Affairs – Canada, Mexico and South America with responsibility for managing all aspects of Ford’s legal matters related to regional manufacturing, sales and service, and distribution activities. He also served as Assistant Tax Officer with responsibility for U.S. federal and state compliance, analysis, transfer pricing, and all aspects of global indirect taxes including litigation.

Born in 1963, Gayton holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.