Ford Motor Company Announces New Leadership Assignments
Dearborn, Mich (ots)
Ford Motor Company's Board of Directors today announced the appointment of three new group vice presidents and the election of several new corporate officers. All assignments are effective immediately.
"The Ford leadership team is intensely focused on moving the company forward," said Chairman and CEO Bill Ford. "We are putting together a talented team that is committed to our mission of building the world's best cars and trucks."
The new group vice presidents:
- Roman Krygier, 58, group vice president, Manufacturing and Quality. He is responsible for North American manufacturing operations and quality. He had been vice president, Powertrain Operations. In his 37-year career at Ford, Krygier was a plant manager, held several management positions in Body and Assembly Operations, and was vice president, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering.
- David Thursfield, 56, group vice president. He remains chairman, president and CEO, Ford of Europe. He is responsible for directing Ford's automotive operations in Europe. Since joining Ford in 1979, Thursfield has held assignments in Australia, Europe and the United States, where in 1998, he became vice president, Vehicle Operations.
- Martin Zimmerman, 55, group vice president, Corporate Affairs. He is responsible for environmental and safety engineering, governmental affairs and corporate public affairs. He had been vice president, governmental affairs. Zimmerman joined Ford in 1987 as the company's chief economist. In 1994, he was appointed executive director, Governmental Relations and Corporate Economics.
The new vice presidents: * Bob Dover, 56, vice president, Jaguar and Land Rover. He is responsible for overseeing the operations of both companies. Dover has held engineering and senior management positions at Jaguar Cars, Aston Martin and Land Rover.
- Joe Greenwell, 50, vice president, Global Automotive and Product Promotions and Associations. He is responsible for global product-related communications and coordination of marketing and public affairs messages. He had been vice president, Communications, Ford of Europe. Prior to that, Greenwell directed communications and public affairs at Jaguar Cars.
- Joe Laymon, 49, vice president, Corporate Human Resources. He is responsible for global human resources strategy, policies and programs. He had been executive director, Human Resources Business Operations. Before joining Ford in 2000, Laymon was a vice president of human resources, marketing and sales at Kodak Company.
- Tim O'Brien, 49, vice president, Real Estate. He is responsible for the company's real estate holdings. He had been director, Environmental Quality Office. O'Brien has held positions of increasing responsibility in Ford's Office of General Counsel, specializing in environmental and regulatory law.
- Hans-Olov Olsson, 59, vice president, Volvo Cars, maintains his role as president, Volvo Cars. Olsson has held management positions in engineering, manufacturing and marketing at Volvo Cars and Trucks with assignments in the United States, Japan and Europe.
- Dave Szczupak, 46, vice president, Powertrain Operations. He is responsible for North American powertrain operations. He had been chief engineer, Powertrain Operations. Since joining Ford in 1985, Szczupak has held several chief engineering positions at Jaguar.
- Jim Vella, 45, vice president, Corporate Public Affairs. He is responsible for global public affairs, including financial and corporate news, internal employee communications and media relations. He had been executive director, Corporate Communications. Vella joined Ford in 1988 with a background in broadcast media. Since then, he has held communications positions of increasing responsibility in product launch, manufacturing and global news operations.
In recognition of the growing importance of the Premier Automotive Group (PAG), the company also announced that Richard Parry-Jones will assume additional responsibilities - leading product development and technical matters for PAG. In this capacity, he will report to Wolfgang Reitzle. He will relocate to the United Kingdom. Parry-Jones also will continue as group vice president and chief technical officer, reporting to Nick Scheele. Jan Klug, vice president, Global Marketing, will report to Wolfgang Reitzle.
"Our Premier Automotive Group is a critically important part of our global corporate portfolio and a major engine of growth for the future," said Nick Scheele, president and chief operating officer. "With the additional support of Richard and Jan as well as the elevation of Bob and Hans-Olov to vice president positions, Wolfgang is positioning PAG to make a real difference in the luxury segment."
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Original content of: Ford-Werke GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell