Ford Motor Co. today announced several senior leadership changes, including the retirement of J Mays, group vice president and chief creative officer of design, after more than 33 years in the automotive industry. Succeeding Mays is Moray Callum, currently executive director of design, The Americas. Elected a Ford officer and named vice president of design, he will report to Raj Nair, group vice president of global product development.
Throughout his 16-year career at Ford, Mays led development of the Ford Fusion, Focus, Fiesta, Taurus, Mustang and F-150. He also was responsible for several significant concept vehicles, including the Ford Atlas, Evos, 427, Forty-Nine, Shelby GR-1, Lincoln MKZ, and MKC.
Further, Jim Tetreault, vice president of North America Manufacturing, has elected to retire after more than 36 years in the automotive industry and 25 years with Ford. Succeeding Tetreault will be Bruce Hettle, who was elected a company officer and named vice president of North America Manufacturing.
Marty Mulloy, vice president of labor affairs, who has been with the company for more than 34 years, also is retiring. Bill Dirksen, who was elected a company officer and named vice president of labor affairs, will succeed him.
Ford also announced the election of Steven Armstrong as a company officer and president of Ford South America. He will report to Joe Hinrichs, executive vice president and president, The Americas.
In other news, the automaker will launch 17 new or refreshed Ford and Lincoln vehicles over the next two years to accelerate growth in the Middle East and Africa, the automaker announced today. The Dearborn-based automaker also will combine the four regions of North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, and the Middle East into a single business unit headquartered in Dubai.
“The Middle East and Africa is poised to become one of the next big automotive growth markets and we want to be there for these customers,” Stephen Odell, president of Ford of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, said in a statement.
Three vehicles making their way into the Middle East and Africa markets — with their debut at this week’s 2013 Dubai International Motor Show — include the Ford Fusion sedan, the EcoSport small SUV, and the Ford Atlas Concept.
Over the past four years, Ford and Lincoln sales have grown 60 percent in the region. The automaker expects total industry sales in the Middle East and Africa to increase nearly 40 percent by 2020, Odell said.
In the past three months, several Ford dealers have opened new facilities in a number of markets, including a new dealership in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Overall, there are more than 60 new Ford and Lincoln sales and service facilities in development.
“Our intention is to grow the Ford business while staying true to our principles of being active and supportive members of the community in the Middle East and Africa,” said Jim Benintende, president of the new unit. “Under the One Ford strategy, we will be able to leverage our global vehicle and technology portfolio and our scale to better serve customers in this important and dynamic region.”
In addition, on Monday the automaker launched a new warranty on Ford Genuine and Motorcraft service parts for unlimited mileage for 24 months from time of purchase or installation. Ford’s previous service parts warranty was 12 months or 12,000 miles/
