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Nuveen’s Heather Davis is leaving the asset manager after 24 years, while four equity portfolio managers are out. 
Davis was the head of private markets for $930 billion Nuveen where she oversaw private equity, private debt, infrastructure and energy. 
Her departure follows four equity portfolio managers earlier this week. Asset managers have been cutting both staff and senior executives in a push to cut costs.
Both Nuveen’s private and public markets teams are seeing cuts amid a challenging environment for the asset management industry.

In a Thursday memo to employees, Jose Minaya, the $930 billion firm’s chief investment officer, said private markets head Heather Davis would retire. 

Davis did not respond to requests for comment, and the firm’s spokesman declined to comment. 

See also: As asset management growth grinds to a halt, firms have to get creative. Here are the 3 avenues analysts say will best boost revenue.

Davis led private equity, private debt, infrastructure and energy for Nuveen, the investment arm of TIAA. Her job is not being replaced, a source said, and the private markets group will report to Minaya, according to the memo.

Davis joined the firm in 1995 and has served as president and chief investment officer for private markets since January 2017, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

Her departure follows those of four equity portfolio managers who left Nuveen earlier this week, Business Insider previously reported. 

Despite notching “one of the asset management industry’s strongest organic growth rates last year,” Minaya wrote that Nuveen faces “many of the same challenges as our peers, including the continued downward pressure on fees and clients’ desire to do business with fewer managers who can do more for them.” 

In addition to the departures, Nuveen is consolidating its real estate and real assets team, which will be led by Mike Sales, the head of real estate.

Other asset managers have already announced cuts this year. In January, State Street started cutting 15% of its management, while BlackRock announced layoffs for 500 staff the same month.  

"Many firms are already planning for reductions during the first quarter of 2019 through both attrition and terminations," said Francine McKenzie, managing director at consultancy Johnson Associates.

Sign up here for our weekly newsletter Wall Street Insider, a behind-the-scenes look at the stories dominating banking, business, and big deals.

NOW WATCH: The wives of high-level cocaine traffickers reveal how their husbands took down ‘El Chapo’

See Also:

• JPMorgan just named its top cyber executive to run tech for retail banking as it steps up its focus on security
• 4 portfolio managers have exited asset management giant Nuveen after their funds took a hit in 2018
• The $43 billion combination of FIS and Worldpay could trigger a wave of M&A. Here are the deals that could be next.

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• Levi Strauss & Co. is set to begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. 
• The blue-jean maker is returning to the public market after more than three decades.
• Its trading debut comes amid a host of fresh initial public offerings, as Lyft, Uber, Airbnb, and a plethora of other companies are getting set to debut. 

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Levi Strauss & Co., the iconic 166-year-old blue-jean maker, is set to return to the public market through an initial public offering Thursday after a three-decade absence.

The San Francisco-based company priced its IPO of nearly 36.7 milion Class A shares at $17 a share, higher than the $14-$16 that was expected. Shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "LEVI."

Levi’s aims to become the second-largest clothing and accessories IPO since at least 2001, according to an IHS Markit analysis, and the oldest such company to list on a US exchange since that year.  

While the company was founded in 1853, the first pair of blue jeans was invented two decades later, in 1873.

Levi’s return to the public market comes during a red-hot time for the IPO market, as companies like Lyft, Uber, Airbnb, and Pinterest are expected to debut later this year.

Read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider: 

• A $3 billion investment chief breaks down the strategies he expects traders to use around the Lyft IPO — and reveals how his firm is planning to play it
• A Tesla analyst who just toured the electric-car maker’s California and Nevada factories reveals what he saw
• Biogen is crashing after scrapping its late-stage Alzheimer’s drug trials
• Markets are reeling after a ‘bizarre’ Fed surprise

NOW WATCH: There’s a secret room behind Mount Rushmore that’s inaccessible to tourists

See Also:

• A $3 billion investment chief breaks down the strategies he expects traders to use around the Lyft IPO — and reveals how his firm is planning to play it
• Bill Gates is worth $100 billion and he plans to give most of it away — here’s how he spends his money now, from a luxury car collection to incredible real estate
• Biker gangs across New Zealand have promised to stand guard outside of New Zealand mosques for first Friday prayer since massacre

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This is an excerpt from a story delivered exclusively to Business Insider Intelligence IoT Briefing subscribers. To receive the full story plus other insights each morning, click here.

San Diego-based technology company and semiconductor designer Qualcomm announced a set of new system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs as well as a dedicated smart speaker platform on which companies can base AI-enabled audio devices.

Business Insider Intelligence

The announcement comes at an opportune time: More and more companies are building smart speakers that house a voice assistant and can control a home, direct media, and serve as a communication hub. The continued development of the third-party smart speaker market will push prices down and drive consumer adoption of voice-enabled devices.

Qualcomm’s new speaker platform offers hardware developers a ready-made package to design and build a smart speaker. It includes modules for multiple forms of in-home connectivity, audio playback, power optimization, and optional visual display capabilities.

Hardware based on this platform can also use onboard AI processing tools to perform voice recognition while offline, and features advanced microphones and audio-recognition software to snatch a voice command from background noise.

This new platform is just the latest example of Qualcomm’s efforts to develop device frameworks to function within existing smart speaker ecosystems. Last month, for instance, the company released a similar platform that allows partners developing mesh Wi-Fi systems to incorporate voice assistants, offering a ready-made solution for this developing class of smart speakers.

Qualcomm’s goal seems to be to position itself as the primary vendor for companies developing smart speaker solutions, mirroring its status in the smartphone segment and following its long-term strategy of building new revenue streams from markets that share core technology with its foundational mobile phone business.

The wider availability of development kits for building voice capabilities directly into other smart home devices will help drive the growing installed base of Alexa, Google Assistant, and other voice assistants. Kits like Qualcomm’s will help third-party device manufacturers develop new smart home devices quickly and easily, thereby creating more devices through which voice assistants can be used.

This will be a boon for Amazon and Google, which want to expand the reach of their respective AI assistants. Having more devices on the market will also drive down prices for consumers, and help grow the US smart speaker installed base to nearly 500 million by 2024.

More to Learn

The Smart Speaker Report from Business Insider Intelligence looks at the state of the smart speaker market and outlines how each of the major device providers approaches the space — focusing on the key factors affecting whether or not someone owns one of these devices, the reasons why people don’t own them, and how the devices are used and perceived in e-commerce, digital media, and banking. 

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Despite their growing popularity, nearly half of respondents still don’t own a device — which presents a long runway for adoption. Our survey data reveals a number of key factors that impact whether or not someone owns one of these devices, including income, gender, and age.
• Smart speakers are establishing themselves as a key platform for e-commerce, media, and the smart home.
• The introduction of a screen to some smart speakers will expand the possibilities for companies developing for the device — but developers will need to resist the compulsion to use speakers to accomplish too much.

In full, the report:

• Provides an overview of the key players and products in the smart speaker market.
• Highlights critical adoption rates broken out by key factors that define the segment.
• Identifies how consumers are using devices in important areas where companies in various industries are trying foster greater use of the voice interface.

Interested in getting the full report? >> Purchase & Download It Now

See Also:

• Sprint has opened a demo space to showcase its 5G tools
• Why Huawei’s Android backup would flop
• More Google-powered speakers will be able to make calls

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• You can turn your Apple Watch on and off normally, or force-restart the device when it becomes unresponsive.
• When turning on Apple Watch, you’ll see the Apple logo for a few moments, then the Watch display.
• There are several ways to wake Apple Watch, which you can customize.

There aren’t too many reasons to turn your Apple Watch off (I personally turned my Watch on and off for the first time for the sake of this story).

But if the need arises, as your watch becomes unresponsive or its apps freeze up, for instance, here’s how you can go about restarting and force-restarting your Apple Watch, and customizing its wake features. 

How to turn off Apple Watch

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1. Press and hold the side button until three slider options appear: Power Off, Medical ID, and Emergency SOS.

2. Slide the Power Off button to the right to turn off Apple Watch.

3. The Apple Watch user guide notes that you are not able to turn off your Apple Watch while it’s charging. To turn it off, you must disconnect it from it charger before following these instructions.

How to turn on Apple Watch

Abigail Abesamis/Business Insider

1. Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears in the middle of the screen.

2. It may take a moment for the Watch to fully turn on, but when it does you’ll see the Watch face. You may be prompted to unlock your Watch if you have a passcode set.

How to force-restart Apple Watch

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1. If your Watch isn’t responding (and not currently updating, which is indicated by an Apple logo and a progress wheel), press and hold the side button and Digital Crown at the same time.

2. Release both buttons as soon as you see the Apple logo (about 10 seconds).

How to wake Apple Watch display

When your Apple Watch is turned on, you’ll want to wake its display to check the time, read notifications, and access all other Apple Watch features. Here are a few ways to do it:

1. Raise your wrist as if you were checking a standard watch. The Watch’s sensors will pick up the movement and wake the screen, and the Watch automatically goes back to sleep when you lower your wrist.

2. Tap on the Watch screen or press the Digital Crown.

3. Turn the Digital Crown in an upward direction and watch the display gradually glow to life. The user guide notes that this option is available on Apple Watch Series 2 and later models.

Customize how long the Watch display stays on upon waking

1. On the iPhone Watch app, go to the My Watch tab and select General.

2. Select Wake Screen.

Abigail Abesamis/Business Insider

3. In the On Tap section, select Wake for 15 Seconds or Wake for 70 Seconds.

Disable Wake Screen on Wrist Raise

Whether you want to conserve battery or in general would prefer to wake your Apple Watch only by tapping the display or pressing the Digital Crown, you can disable the Wake Screen on Wrist Raise feature in your iPhone Watch app’s settings or by using theater mode. Here’s how to do both:

1. On the Wake Screen menu in the iPhone Watch app (under General, pictured above), turn the Wake Screen on Wrist Raise option off.

Abigail Abesamis/Business Insider

2. To temporarily turn off this feature, enable theater mode on your Apple Watch by swiping up on the display and selecting the icon with two masks. When theater mode is activated you’ll see the masks icon at the top of the Watch display. Theater mode silences Apple Watch and keeps the display from turning on when raising your wrist.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to add and remove apps on your Apple Watch

• How to change the band on your Apple Watch

• How to close apps on the Apple Watch, and other troubleshooting tips

• How to charge an Apple Watch, and how long it takes to fully charge

NOW WATCH: Everything we know about Samsung’s foldable phone

See Also:

• How to add and remove apps on your Apple Watch
• How to restart and force-restart any iPhone model
• How to clear the cache on your Mac computer to make it run more efficiently

SEE ALSO: The best smartwatches you can buy

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SpaceX

The science section of INSIDER and Business Insider is looking for reporters interested in contributing stories on a freelance basis.

We’re working to build a network of reliable and talented freelance writers, and we’re especially interested in reporters with experience covering weather, the environment, and space. Our style is smart, conversational, exciting, and geared toward a general audience.

We welcome pitches, though we also send a list of story ideas out on a weekly basis for our freelance writers to claim. Contributors can take on as many or as few stories as they’d like, pending final assignment and approval.

Each completed piece is priced on a sliding scale based on the writer’s experience level, photos used, subject matter of the story, length, turnaround time, and other factors, and is negotiable.

If you’re interested in participating in our freelance program, please send a resume and 3-5 clips to: insider-freelance@thisisinsider.com.

Please also specify your particular area of science expertise if applicable, as well as any other relevant experience you think we should know about.

See Also:

• ‘Worse than Voldemort’: Photos show students around the world skipping school to protest climate change inaction
• Physicists have discovered that rotating black holes might serve as portals for hyperspace travel
• A dietitian explains which non-dairy milk is best for you

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• Josh Kushner, the younger brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, donated the maximum $2,600 to Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s Senate campaign last October. 
• Josh Kushner is reportedly a lifelong Democrat and has donated to a host of other Democratic candidates and causes. 

Josh Kushner, the younger brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, donated $2,600 to Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s Senate campaign last October. 

The younger Kushner, a venture capitalist, made his donation — $100 shy of the maximum amount permitted for an individual in the 2018 cycle — just days before the election on on October 25, Axios reported Thursday. O’Rourke was narrowly defeated by incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, a staunch ally of the president. 

O’Rourke is now in the race to defeat Trump. He announced his 2020 run for president in mid-March and raised a record $6.1 million in the first 24 hours following his announcement.

Read more: Beto O’Rourke is running for president in 2020

O’Rourke raised just under $79 million during his Senate campaign — the second-highest for any Senate candidate behind Florida’s Rick Scott — according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets database.

Josh Kusher is reportedly a lifelong Democrat and, on his brother’s first day helping lead the Trump administration, attended the January 21, 2017 Women’s March in Washington. That same weekend, he posted a photo of himself with his brother at the White House in front of a portrait of President John F. Kennedy. 

Read more: Jared Kushner’s brother has married model Karlie Kloss. Here’s everything we know about the power couple.

The younger Kushner has also donated to former President Barack Obama, and New Jersey Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez. His brother and sister-in-law, first daughter Ivanka Trump, have also donated extensively to Democrats in the past. 

Josh’s wife, supermodel Karlie Kloss, voted for Hillary Clinton and the couple also attended the pro-gun control March for Our Lives in 2018. 

NOW WATCH: ‘He is a racist. He is a conman.’ Michael Cohen’s most explosive claims about Trump in his blockbuster hearing

See Also:

• GOP senator calls Trump’s dayslong tirade against John McCain ‘deplorable’
• Ivanka Trump reportedly used a workaround to get access to Air Force planes after being rejected. 68% of Americans surveyed think someone who uses the same workaround should be punished.
• 67% of Americans don’t know what Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump actually do in the White House

SEE ALSO: 67% of Americans don’t know what Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump actually do in the White House

SEE ALSO: Karlie Kloss just married Jared Kushner’s brother Joshua — here’s what their wedding was like

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This is an excerpt from a story delivered exclusively to Business Insider Intelligence E-Commerce Briefing subscribers. To receive the full story plus other insights each morning, click here.

Consumers have a strong inclination toward shopping across channels: The vast majority (82%) say that they’ve researched and reviewed products online before making a purchase in-store, according to a study by BRP.

Business Insider Intelligence

Additionally, 56% say that they’ve shopped in-store to check out products and then made their purchase online via desktop or mobile device. These “start anywhere and finish anywhere” behaviors help explain why a staggering 87% of customers say they want a personalized and consistent experience across all shopping channels.

Consumers favor a high degree of retailer transparency and synergy across devices. Fifty-six percent of customers indicate that they’re likely to shop at a retailer that provides a shared cart across digital channels (for example, mobile device or desktop) as opposed to with a retailer that doesn’t offer this feature.

Additionally, a strong majority of consumers (66%) say that they’d be likely to choose a retailer that provides inventory visibility across digital channels over one that doesn’t.

These consumer preferences highlight areas where retailers need to reassess their current strategies:

• Provide greater emphasis on personalization wherever customers are shopping. Despite the 87% of consumers saying that they want a personalized shopping experience across channels, only 53% of retailers say that personalization of the customer experience is a top priority for them. More retailers should consider taking measures to make their sites feel more personalized. For example, Walmart overhauled subsidiary Jet.com to show imagery and messages on the home page that correspond to a shopper’s city across devices. Retailers that lack the resources to invest in handling personalization improvements themselves could also consider working with a personalization vendor like Dynamic Yield. Cosmetics company Kopari took this approach to enable its website to adapt to different factors for each customer, such as what device they’re browsing on and what ad they followed to get there.
• Enable a shared cart that stays updated across devices. One of the most significant gaps found between customer demand and retailer capability was that, while 56% of customers prefer retailers that offer a shared cart across channels, only 7% of retailers actually offer one. If retailers can find a way to offer this feature, it would enable customers to add an item they see in-store to their cart in a mobile app and purchase it later from desktop, for example, providing a more seamless shopping experience regardless of channel.

Interested in getting the full story? Here are two ways to get access:

1. Sign up for the E-Commerce Briefing to get it delivered to your inbox 6x a week. >> Get Started

2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to the E-Commerce Briefing, plus more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you’ll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now

See Also:

• Amazon rules the product search process
• Most Amazon private labels aren’t flying off the shelves yet, but the company is taking huge steps to change that
• AmazonBasics dwarfs Amazon’s other private labels in popularity

SEE ALSO: THE MOBILE CHECKOUT BENCHMARK REPORT: How Amazon, Target, and other top e-tailers rank on checkout features that drive conversion

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LONDON — Britain is heading for a no-deal Brexit if MPs reject Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, Emmanuel Macron has said.

"In the case of a no vote, we would go towards a no deal," the French president said at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels.

"It’s absolutely essential to be clear at this moment." 

MPs are due to vote for a third time on Theresa May’s proposed Brexit plan early next week after it was rejected twice. 

Prime Minister Theresa May has requested a short extension of Article 50 until the end of June to avoid leaving without a deal on March 29, which would need to be ratified by all EU leaders.

But European Council President Donald Tusk on Monday indicated that a short extension would be conditional on MPs approving a deal next week.

Macron, who held a bilateral meeting with May on Thursday afternoon, suggested afterwards that EU leaders might be open to a longer extension if May’s government changed course. 

"There must be a deep political change for there to be anything else other than a technical extension," he said.

NOW WATCH: ‘He is a racist. He is a conman.’ Michael Cohen’s most explosive claims about Trump in his blockbuster hearing

See Also:

• Why Theresa May’s Brexit deal is heading for a third defeat next week
• MPs vote to delay Brexit
• Trump says Brexit has gone ‘badly’ because Theresa May ignored his advice

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Drew Angerer, Getty

• All of Time Warner’s top executives have left the company since AT&T bought it last year.
• They include HBO’s Richard Plepler, who unexpectedly resigned last month, and Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, who stepped down this week following a report that alleged he had a sexual relationship with an actress and promised to help her get roles.

After AT&T bought Time Warner last year for a massive $85 billion — taking control of Time Warner’s many assets including Warner Bros. and HBO in a deal that President Trump opposed — AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson sent a memo to employees.

"It’s been a long time coming, but well worth the effort: AT&T and Time Warner are now one company," Stephenson told employees in the June memo.

But the acquisition, which formed the new WarnerMedia, has brought with it a new set of complications. All of Time Warner’s top executives are out, less than a year after the deal finally closed after a months-long legal battle with the Justice Department, which sued AT&T in November 2017 in an effort to block the merger.

READ MORE: Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara is stepping down following a report alleging he had a sexual relationship with an actress and promised to help her get roles

From surprise resignations like HBO’s Richard Plepler to a sex scandal that forced Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara to resign this week, Time Warner’s leadership has undergone a major, and partially unexpected, shakeup.

Hollywood is buzzing about former 20th Century Fox chairman Stacey Snider as a potential replacement for Tsujihara at Warner Bros., according to The Wrap. Snider is officially out at Fox now that the Disney-Fox merger is complete (it closed on Wednesday).

Other potential candidates include former Disney COO Thomas Staggs; Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley; Gail Berman, the former Paramount president and current CEO of independent production company, The Jackal Group; and former CBS network president Nancy Tellum, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Whoever replaces Tsujihara, they’ll be expected to work more closely with HBO, develop content for AT&T’s upcoming streaming service, and manage Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies, cable channels that were once under Turner, according to Variety. 

In the meantime, Warner Bros. is forming an interim leadership team until a replacement for Tsujihara is chosen, according to Variety. The team will include Warner Bros. motion pictures group chairman Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. television group president and CCO Peter Roth, and Warner Bros. CFO Kim Williams.

It was expected that Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes would leave Time Warner, but he left it behind much faster than anticipated. He was expected to oversee the transition period before leaving, but exited shortly after the deal closed. John Martin, who ran Turner TV for over four years, also quickly departed after the closing.

And that’s not all.

Here are all the major leadership changes that have happened at WarnerMedia:

Jeff Bewkes — Former Time Warner CEO

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Bewkes was the former CEO of HBO from 1995 to 2008, when he became CEO of Time Warner. Bewkes was tasked with cleaning up a troubled Time Warner, which had acquired AOL in 2000. The merger was a disaster and lost Time Warner $100 billion in 2002 because of a write down on AOL, according to CNN.

Under Bewkes, Time Warner spun off AOL, Time Warner Cable, and Time Inc. AOL was eventually bought by Verizon, and Time Warner Cable was bought by Charter Communications (it’s now rebranded as Spectrum).

"I’m very proud about what we have accomplished together, and I hope you’re as excited as I am about the opportunities ahead,” Bewkes said in a resignation video in June. “Because as storytellers, as journalists, as business leaders and catalysts for change, our work is never really done. We can only run our leg of the relay, then pass the baton.”

Kevin Tsujihara — Former Warner Bros. CEO

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Tsujihara was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with actress Charlotte Kirk and promised to get her acting roles, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk has denied that the relationship impacted her casting, and has said that the relationship ended many years ago).

"It is in the best interest of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros., our employees and our partners for Kevin to step down as Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros.," WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey said in a statement on Monday. "Kevin has contributed greatly to the studio’s success over the past 25 years and for that we thank him. Kevin acknowledges that his mistakes are inconsistent with the Company’s leadership expectations and could impact the Company’s ability to execute going forward."

Tsujihara was the first person of Asian descent to be the head of a major movie studio, and was in the role since 2013. He joined Warner Bros. in 1994 as the director of special projects finance. Prior to being named CEO, he was the president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

WarnerMedia is continuing its investigation of Tsujihara with outside counsel and said he was  cooperating.

Richard Plepler — Former HBO CEO

AP Photo/ Matt Sayles

Plepler unexpectedly resigned from his role of CEO of WarnerMedia’s premium cable network, HBO, last month. A replacement has not been chosen. 

"Hard as it is to think about leaving the company I love, and the people I love in it, it is the right time for me to do so," he wrote in a memo to staff. "In the past weeks, I’ve thought a lot about the incredible journey of this company in the nearly 28 years that I have been blessed to be here. It’s a journey of great pride and accomplishment because so many of you, and many others before us, have made HBO a cultural and business phenomenon."

Plepler joined HBO in 1992, and became CEO in 2012 after serving as the network’s co-president. 

Under Plepler, HBO continued its awards dominance, carrying its prestige status with Emmy-winning shows like "Game of Thrones," "Big Little Lies," and "Barry." The network always prided itself on quality over quantity, focusing heavily on a stacked Sunday night lineup. 

But AT&T was quick to make its intentions for HBO known. The company wants to increase the amount of content HBO develops in an effort to compete with Netflix. Plans are in motion for two hours of primetime original programming on Monday nights along with Sundays, and AT&T is expected to launch its own streaming service this year that will include HBO.

"It’s not hours a week, and it’s not hours a month," WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey said in July. "We need hours a day. You are competing with devices that sit in people’s hands that capture their attention every 15 minutes. I want more hours of engagement."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• Meet the power players of the Disney-Fox merger, who will lead its iconic franchises into the future and do battle with Netflix
• Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara is stepping down following a report alleging he had a sexual relationship with an actress and promised to help her get roles
• There are 6 Marvel movies in the works for after ‘Avengers: Endgame’ — here are all the details

SEE ALSO: Meet the power players of the Disney-Fox merger, who will lead its iconic franchises into the future and do battle with Netflix

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Ford

• Longtime Ford exec Bob Shanks is retiring after over 40 years with the automaker.
• He’s being succeeded by Tim Stone, who spent 20 years at Amazon before a brief stint at Snap that ended in early 2019.
• Stone’s hiring continues CEO Jim Hackett’s drive to push Ford closer to Silicon Valley.
• Shanks was a true gentleman of the car business and will be missed — but he can look forward to a well-deserved retirement.

Longtime Ford CFO Bob Shanks officially announced his rumored retirement on Thursday. The four-decade veteran of the Detroit automaker will step down this year. He’ll be succeeded by Tim Stone, who spent 20 years at Amazon before moving to Snap.

Stone’s first day at Ford will be April 15, and he’ll officially take over as CFO on June 1, the company said.

"We’re so excited to have Tim join Ford at this incredible time for our company as we strive to become the world’s most trusted company, designing smart vehicles for a smart world," Ford CEO Jim Hackett said in a statement. "He was a key player in the incredible success at Amazon and knows how to deliver day-to-day results while at the same time evaluating, prioritizing and shepherding along customer-focused investments that can deliver exponential growth in the near and long term."

Shanks, 66, was a notably capable executive whose understanding of Ford’s global business was quietly, confidently comprehensive. He performed a vital role for the automaker after former CEO Mark Fields, another Ford veteran, was ousted in 2017, replaced by Hackett, who had run furniture-maker Steelcase and boasted ties to Silicon Valley.

Read more: Ford is reviewing a succession plan for its CFO, but he isn’t leaving just yet

Hackett had served as the chief of Ford’s new-mobility division, as well as on the automaker’s board, but he was a relative newcomer to the car business. Shanks was able to provide substantial insight and guidance to Wall Street while Hackett concentrated on rebranding Ford as a futuristic, high-tech provider of transportation, rather the just a company that manufactures pickup trucks and Mustangs.

"Bob will leave a remarkable 42-year legacy at Ford," Hackett said. "As a CFO, he’s been relentless in driving for results and pushing the company to greater heights. He’s also been a wonderful colleague who leads with integrity, warmth and humor."

Ford

Stone’s hiring continues Hackett’s theme of techifying Ford. But the executive’s tenure at Snap was brief; he arrived after the company’s 2017 IPO but departed earlier this year after eight months on the job. 

The two decades he spent at Amazon were undoubtedly more attractive to Ford than his stint at a buzzy startup known for its appeal to teenagers and for offbeat gadgets, such as Snap Spectacles. Hackett has often spoken of Ford’s ability to leverage its vast global capabilities to seize Amazon-like opportunities in alternative mobility, transportation services, and deliveries. 

Stone never made it to the CFO’s chair at Amazon, but he did work as CFO for several Amazon units. Ford will be his first crack at overseeing the complicated finances of a gigantic, 115-year-old company that has been met with extreme investor skepticism, even amid booming US sales. Over the past twelve months, the stock has declined 23%.

On a personal note, I’ll miss Shanks. A true gentleman of the rough-and-tumbled car business, we usually spoke every quarter after Ford announced its earnings. He certainly deserves his retirement after nearly half a century of service to America’s oldest automaker. His wry sensibility, combined with a grasp of an industry that has countless moving parts, made for conversations that were always entertaining and informative.

NOW WATCH: Ford has built a plug-in hybrid cop car

See Also:

• The US government wants to audit how the Boeing 737 Max got approved to fly by the FAA
• The Boeing 737 Max is likely to be the last version of the best-selling airliner of all time
• 11 questions to ask when buying a new car

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!

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