Ford Lures Engineer Back From Uber to Oversee Self-Driving Cars

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ford Motor Co. has wooed back a senior engineer who left the auto maker to develop autonomous vehicles at Uber Technologies Inc., underscoring the Motor City auto maker’s determination under new leadership to wrest back the lead from Silicon Valley on new technologies.

Sherif Marakby returns to Ford as vice president responsible for the company’s self-driving and electric-car businesses, the auto maker said Thursday as it announced a raft of top management changes under new CEO Jim Hackett.

His return to Ford is a symbolic victory, and signals an effort by Mr. Hackett to install a prominent engineer into a key role designed to bridge various departments and execute its vision for self-driving cars.

Ford also announced Thursday that product and technical chief Raj Nair will take over North American operations, a region responsible for nearly 90% of the company’s profits, and Steven Armstrong, Europe’s operating chief, will be elevated to run the region, replacing Jim Farley, who was named the new global markets president Monday.