Ford Shuffles Executives and Operations
Photo: Ford
New Ford Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley recently conducted a 10-week close-look at the automaker’s operations, and the resulting analysis sees several changes to Ford Motor Company leadership and organization.
The changes announced on Thursday align with several key goals for Ford moving forward. This includes establishing a dedicated unit for commercial vehicles in the United States and Canada, streamlining costs while improving product quality, and optimizing product launches. All of these aspects fall under Ford’s Creating Tomorrow Together organizational transformation plan.
“We are moving with a renewed sense of urgency to improve the fitness of the business and improve our launches, while at the same time modernizing Ford in a way that plays to our strengths,” said Farley. “That means putting the right team of global leaders in place; streamlining the way we work; embracing the power of connectivity, data, and AI; and turning our leadership in commercial vehicles into a dedicated growth business.”
Coming Soon: The most popular colors and features on the 2021 Mustang Mach-E
Kumar Galhotra takes on new responsibilities
Kumar Galhotra, the current president of Ford North America, has been named the new president of the Americas and the International Markets Group. This makes Galhotra responsible for the profit and loss of all Ford business units including the newly established unit for commercial vehicles. Ford says that unifying these units beneath Galhotra allows the company to expedite decision-making and adapt more quickly to market demands.
Photo: Ford
Reporting to Galhotra is new chief operating officer of North America Lisa Drake, whose responsibilities include product launches, cutting warranty costs, and refining material costs. She’ll be tasked with bringing Ford to a 10 percent EBIT margin in North America, a goal for which Ford says she is qualified as result of her deep operational knowledge of business. In addition to her new title, Drake stays on as the vice president of Global Purchasing.
Also under Galhotra is Lyle Watters, the president of South America and International Markets Group, who will have an expanded role in the reorg. Reporting to Watters is current IMG president Mark Ovenden.
Ted Cannis to head up Commercial Vehicle unit
Photo: Ford
Ted Cannis, the current global director of Electrification, will now take on the role of general manager for Commercial Vehicles. Reporting to Galhotra, Cannis’ duties span the U.S. and Canada and focus on solutions for business customers and operational alignment with partner companies. It was not made clear whether Cannis will stay on as the global director of Electrification or if Ford has a successor in place.
Ford also announced that it’s bringing in retired Israeli Military Intelligence Corps colonel Gil Gur Arie as its new chief of Global Data Insight and Analytics. Gur Arie will report to Farley and guide Ford as it seeks to become a leader in artificial intelligence, data, and analytics, particularly when it comes to their application in connected and autonomous vehicles.
Additionally, Burt Jordan, currently vice president of Global Vehicle Purchasing, becomes the VP of Global Purchasing Operations. He will report to Ford’s chief product development and purchasing officer, Hau Thai-Tang.
More from Ford: 2020 Super Duty Tremor package offers integrated electric winch add-on
New Enterprise Connectivity unit established
Also reporting to Thai-Tang is Stuart Taylor, named executive director of Enterprise Connectivity. The new unit puts Taylor in charge of building up and rolling out connectivity solutions and digital experiences. To this end, Taylor will oversee Alex Purdy, most recently the director of Deere Labs for John Deere, who comes on as the director of Business Operations, Digital Experience, and Connectivity.
“The creation of the Enterprise Connectivity organization provides seamless end-to-end ownership for connectivity between the vehicle, consumer, and infrastructure within Ford,” said Thai-Tang. “Establishing this new organization, along with these appointments, will help us accelerate the delivery of human-centered, connected experiences for our customers and realize our vision of delivering intelligent vehicles in an increasingly connected world.”
All appointments and organizational changes take effect on May 1.
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.