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Ford Announces Smart Mobility Subsidiary, Chairman

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Ford has announced a new subsidiary, Ford Smart Mobility LLC, which was created solely to focus on the expansion of Ford’s Smart Mobility program. Ford has made it a point in recent months to point out its ambition to become a mobility company over being considered a mere automaker.

The formation of the subsidiary was accompanied by the announcement that former Steelcase vice chairman and CEO and Ford board member Jim Hackett would become the chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC. He will report directly to Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company CEO.

“Ford Smart Mobility and expanding into mobility services are significant growth opportunities,” said Fields. “Our plan is to quickly become part of the growing transportation services market, which already accounts for $5.4 trillion in annual revenue. Jim Hackett is the right visionary leader—with extensive experience in business development and design—to take us into the mobility services business in the future.”

Hackett spent 30 years with Steelcase, helping the company become the global leader in office furniture by having the foresight to predict a shift away from cloistering cubes and toward more open spaces. He has been a member of the Ford Motor Company Board of Directors since 2013, serving on the Audit, Sustainability and Innovation, and Nominating and Governance committees.

“I am absolutely thrilled to lead Ford’s mobility business into the future,” said Hackett. “Transportation in the world today is on the cusp of a major revolution, and Ford plans to lead the way by changing the way the world moves through Ford Smart Mobility.”

Ford Smart Mobility LLC will result in both in-house mobility services being built from the ground up and collaboration with start-ups and tech companies from around the industry. The current primary focuses of Ford Smart Mobility include data, analytics, customer experience, self-driving vehicles, urban mobility, and in-vehicle connectivity.