Ford Puts Ford Blue, EV Division Under One Leader
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Ford Motor Co. is placing the leadership of its gas and hybrid business along with its all-electric division under a single leader again, though they will continue to operate separately.
The Dearborn automaker on Feb. 5 said Andrew Frick, its president of the Ford Blue internal combustion engine business, will add leadership of the Model e EV division to his responsibilities, which also includes leadership of the Ford Pro commercial division until the company finds a new leader to replace Ted Cannis, who retired at the end of September.
Frick succeeds Model e Chief Operating Officer Marin Gjaja, who has been named Ford’s new chief strategy officer and will report to Ford CEO Jim Farley and John Lawler, vice chair. David McClelland, who led strategy at Ford since 2019, will retire toward the end of the first quarter after a 32-year global career with the company.
Ford made a splash in March 2022 when it announced it was dividing its legacy and EV business into separate units in its bids to change its traditional thinking, be more agile and catch up to EV leader Tesla Inc. But the road to improved EV penetration since has been found to be much bumpier than expected, and Ford has dialed back its separation plans such as doing away last summer with its certification requirements for dealers to sell EVs. Ford Blue and Model e, however, will continue to operate as separate divisions, a spokesperson confirmed.
Frick
“We continue,” Farley said in a statement, “to build a talented, mission-driven leadership team that will consistently deliver results while transforming Ford into a higher-growth, higher-margin, more durable company in this fast-changing and competitive environment.”
Additionally, Kay Hart, who led Ford’s international markets group to record profitability, will report to Frick as general manager of Ford Model e. Hart was an influential member of Team Edison, which developed and launched the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV and F-150 Lightning truck.
“The Model e team will remain laser focused on delivering a profitable EV business as we launch our next-gen vehicles and solve for the unique needs and experiences of EV customers,” Frick said in a statement. “At the same time, we will align our teams to improve our overall distribution and market approach to better serve our dealers, who are core to our retail execution across Ford Blue, Model e, and Pro as they become more specialized.”
Sam Wu, president and CEO of Ford China, will take over an expanded role to lead the international markets group in Hart’s place. Jeff Marentic will report to Wu as head of the international markets group.
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“Sam has led a significant turnaround of Ford’s China business and his leadership will be an asset as we continue to profitably grow in China and around the world,” Farley said. “Success across our international markets, including ASEAN, South Africa, Australia, and Middle East markets, requires leveraging our China export business as well and competing successfully against the Chinese automakers aggressively scaling in these markets.”
Daniel Justo, vice president of the Ford Customer Service Division, will take the lead for customer experience, working with dealers to expand the company’s position in remote service, pickup and delivery.
Ford also confirmed Sherry House, vice president of financial since June, will take over from Lawler as chief financial officer on Feb. 6.
