Friday 7 November 2014

Fields swaps over top men in Ford Europe/global

Ford Motor Company has switched the jobs of two senior men as it seeks to deliver the company’s One Ford plan for profitable growth.

Jim Farley is appointed executive vice president and president of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

At the same time, Stephen Odell takes over as executive vice president, global marketing, sales and service. Both will continue to report to Mark Fields, Ford president and chief executive officer.

“We are excited to see Jim and Stephen take on these new roles as they bring unique skills, experience and fresh perspectives to these critical positions,” said Fields. “These moves also underscore our commitment to develop our senior leaders through deep experience within both our business units and our global skill teams.”

Farley, 52, currently serves as executive vice president of global marketing, sales and service, a position to which he was appointed in 2007. In this role, Fields said Farley had led the company’s drive to connect more closely with customers through integrated global marketing, advertising, digital communications, brand development and research.

He was instrumental too in leading the ongoing transformation of Lincoln, setting it on a path for growth as a world-class luxury brand and customer experience.

Before joining Ford, Farley was group vice president and general manager of Toyota Motor Corporation’s Lexus luxury division.  He spent more than 10 years in marketing, sales and service leadership positions at Toyota, serving in the US and Europe for the company’s Scion, Toyota and Lexus brands.

Farley will be responsible now for accelerating Ford’s transformation in Europe, executing the One Ford plan to achieve profitable growth through an unprecedented focus on new products, a strong brand and increased cost efficiency.

In this new job, Farley will have an opportunity to apply his passion to build on the success of Ford’s products in Europe and grow the company’s business in the Middle East and Africa.

Odell, 59, has been leading the company’s European operations since 2010 and currently serves as executive vice president and president, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Odell, according to Fields, has been instrumental in leading the development and implementation of Ford’s European transformation plan and the strategic development of the company’s Middle East and Africa operations.

In his new role leading the company’s marketing, sales and service organization, Odell will be focused on continuing to build the Ford and Lincoln brands globally through innovative new digital communications and transforming the retail experience for customers.

During his 34-year career at Ford, Odell served as president and chief executive officer of Volvo Car Corporation from 2008 to 2010 and led marketing, sales and service at Ford of Europe and at Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan, where he was responsible for leading Mazda’s successful Zoom Zoom marketing campaign.  


Fields claimed that under Odell’s leadership, Ford’s European transformation plan “is well under way, and we are poised to profitably grow as the region emerges from a long downturn. Odell was instrumental also in turning around Volvo and Mazda by reinvigorating their product lines, improving their brands and addressing cost and capacity issues. He brings a wealth of global experience in marketing, sales and service to his new assignment.”   

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