Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital and design officer, is leaving the automaker just as the company rolls out a new product creation team that will centralize vehicle and software development. The change, reported yesterday, marks a high-profile personnel shift inside Ford’s product ranks.
As reported by Crain's Detroit Business, Ford has created a "product creation team" and Field will depart the company. Crain’s characterized the move as part of an internal reshuffle meant to speed up product cycles and improve coordination between hardware and software groups.
New Team Aims To Tie Hardware And Software Together Earlier
Industry coverage over the past two years has tracked Ford’s broader effort to bring digital and physical product work closer together, an approach Field has publicly backed while leading the company’s EV and software push. TechCrunch has detailed Ford’s cross-disciplinary EV teams and skunkworks-style projects that mix engineering, software and manufacturing talent in order to cut costs and shorten development timelines, describing that setup as a key piece of Ford’s product strategy.
Who Doug Field Is
Field joined Ford following senior engineering roles at Tesla and a stint at Apple, and in Ford’s proxy and SEC filings, he is listed as Chief EV, Digital and Design Officer. Those filings show that the title began in October 2023 and note that he is responsible for leading Ford’s EV, digital and design programs. The current title and biography appear in Ford’s proxy statement filed with the SEC.
Why The Change Matters
Field’s departure removes a prominent technology leader at a time when Ford is betting on new, lower-cost EV platforms and more integrated digital experiences to stay competitive. Reporting on Ford’s EV strategy has stressed that the automaker is in the middle of a rapid and expensive transformation that relies on tight coordination between hardware and software teams as well as consistent executive leadership. Electrek and other outlets have previously tracked how Ford’s structural changes affect the timing of new products.
What Comes Next
Crain’s reported that Ford has formed the new product creation team but did not name an immediate successor for Field, and Ford has not yet released a full list of personnel changes tied to the reorganization. For now, product responsibilities shift to a newly centralized group that company executives say is intended to accelerate development. Industry watchers will be looking to see who ultimately assumes Field’s duties and how the revamped team influences future vehicle and software delivery schedules, according to Crain's Detroit Business.
