Ford Motor Co. is hiring Doug Field, the head of Apple’s “Apple Car” project, away from the Cupertino Colossus. Prior to arriving at Apple, Field played a major role launching the Model 3 at Tesla.
Craig Trudell and Keith Naughton for Bloomberg:
Doug Field is coming aboard as chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer, Ford said in a statement. Field also previously worked as a top engineer at Tesla Inc. between two stints at Apple…
The hire is a coup for Ford, which has made major strides under Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley in convincing investors it can compete with Tesla and others on electric vehicles and technology. Ford shares have almost doubled since Farley took over in October, after his two predecessors presided over a years-long slump.
“This is a watershed moment for our company — Doug has accomplished so much,” Farley said in a briefing with reporters. “This is just a monumental moment in time that we have now to really remake a 118-year-old company.”
Apple said it’s grateful for the contributions Field made and that it wishes him well at Ford. The departure marks another significant setback for Apple’s automotive efforts. The company’s car project has gone through several strategy and leadership shake-ups since it started to take shape around 2014… Field joined in 2018 and is at least the fourth member of the car group’s management team who has left since February and the fourth Apple car division chief to leave since it started.
MacDailyNews Take: As with most “secret” projects at Apple, from the outside, the company seems to be floundering – right up until the day they release a paradigm-shifting product or service.
Doug had better brush up on his “engineering” of knobs, handles, and buttons that fail within 36 months – a standard Ford feature alongside insipid design flaws that promote concentrated body rust.