Steven Croley Named Chief Policy Officer And General Counsel At Ford

July 7, 2021 7:49 am

Ford has undergone its fair share of executive shakeups in recent weeks, with chief tech exec Ken Washington leaving for Amazon, former Renault exec Franck Louis-Victor being named the VP Of Ford’s New Businesses Platform team, and Jon Huntsman coming on board as the automaker’s vice chair of policy. Now, we have yet another move to announce – Ford has chosen former U.S. federal lawyer Steven Croley to be its chief policy officer and general counsel.

In addition to his time as a federal lawyer, Steven Croley previously served as a special assistant to former President Obama on regulatory policy and deputy counsel overseeing legal policy, general counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy, and as a member of Washington D.C. law firm Latham & Watkins’ litigation and trial department.

“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.”

Croley will assume the position of chief policy officer and general counsel on July 12^th and will work closely with Huntsman while reporting directly to Farley. Mitch Bainwol, Ford’s chief government relations officer, Bob Holycross, vice president, Sustainability, Environment, and Safety Engineering, and Rebecca Pagani, chief privacy officer, will all report to Croley. Croley will be taking the place of John Mellen, who assumed the position of general counsel after postponing his planned retirement for one year. Mellen will stick around until September 1^st to help Croley transition into the role.

John Mellen, Ford General Counsel.

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

We’ll have the latest on Ford’s executive shakeups as they happen, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.