Mark LaNeve Leaves Ford, Andrew Frick Named as Replacement
Photo: Ford
On Monday, Ford Motor Company announced the immediate departure of Mark LaNeve, the former vice president of Marketing, Sales, and Service. LaNeve’s replacement is Andrew Frick, who has been with Ford for the past 25 years. Frick will now oversee Sales in the United States and Canada for the automaker.
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In his new role, Frick reports to Ford President of the Americas and International Markets Group Kumar Galhotra. In a statement, Galhotra said that Frick’s leadership will be critical in the automaker’s continued turnaround and revamp efforts under new CEO Jim Farley. Frick previously served as Ford’s director of U.S. sales.
LaNeve pursuing ‘next chapter’
LaNeve seems poised to take on a new role somewhere outside of Ford. The automaker specified that the outgoing executive “has elected to depart Ford after an accomplished career … in order to pursue the next chapter of his professional life.”
In a post on his LinkedIn profile, LaNeve said “it’s been an honor to represent the Blue Oval.”
LaNeve began his career with Ford as the chief operating office at WPP Group, overseeing the Global Team Blue agency in charge of the automaker’s marketing and advertising. In February 2015, he took on the role of VP of U.S. Marketing, Sales, and Service, a title which he held until Monday.
“Mark LaNeve has been a tireless advocate for customers and dealers and helped lead Ford over the last six years, to improved dealer relations and record sales of F-Series pickups, while improving the retail experience,” Galhotra said. “In this extraordinary year, Mark and his team did a great job of safeguarding dealers and customers as well as increasing market share. He leaves a strong foundation from which to build on and take the Ford brand to new levels for customers and dealers.”
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Ford announces Lemmer’s interim replacement
Ford on Monday also announced Sakis Kitsopanidis as the interim leader of Ford’s Technology & Software Platform. Kitsopanidis fills in for Jeff Lemmer, who retired on Jan. 1. Lemmer was to have been replaced as chief software and information officer by Vijay Sankaran. Shortly after being announced for the role, Sankaran decided not to return to Ford, opting instead to spend time focusing on family.
As the head of the Technology & Software Platform, Kitsopanidis will oversee Ford’s Information Technology; Global Data, Insight, and Analytics; and Ford Business Services. He will also remain in charge of the Integrated Enterprise Resource Planning program.
Lemmer had been Ford’s chief information officer since June 2018.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.