Ford Announces Senior Leadership Team Changes

Tony Brown, group vice president, Global Purchasing, retiring after 36-year career

Hau Thai-Tang appointed group vice president, Global Purchasing

Birgit Behrendt elected vice president, Global Programs & Purchasing Operations

Burt Jordan elected vice president, Global Vehicle and Powertrain Purchasing & Supplier Diversity

Kumar Galhotra appointed vice president, Engineering

Trevor Worthington elected vice president, Product Development, Asia Pacific

Ford Motor Company today is announcing a series of changes within its senior leadership team to continue delivering the company’s One Ford plan for profitable growth.

Tony Brown, group vice president, Global Purchasing, has elected to retire. Capping a career spanning more than 36 years, Brown has been Ford’s global purchasing leader for the past 11 years. He joined Ford in July 1999, after serving in a variety of senior purchasing leadership positions inside and outside the auto industry.

“Tony Brown is a world-class business leader who has helped to transform Ford’s relationships with our global supplier partners,” said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. “Tony’s leadership and dedication to working together have helped Ford and our supplier partners emerge from the recent global transformation of the auto industry well-positioned for future growth.”

Succeeding Brown as group vice president, Global Purchasing is Hau Thai-Tang, who will report to Mark Fields, Ford’s chief operating officer. Thai-Tang currently is vice president, Engineering. His extensive global experience leading the company’s global engineering operations in North America, South America and Europe will enable him to bring the same One Ford approach to Ford’s purchasing, the company said.

“We have a significant opportunity going forward to further realize our One Ford vision in purchasing,” Fields said. “Ford purchases $90 billion of production and non-production goods and services each year around the world. Building on his extensive global product knowledge, Hau is the right leader to take our purchasing effectiveness and efficiency to the next level and unlock the full benefits of our scale and commonality.”

Ford also announced today that Birgit Behrendt is elected a Ford Motor Company officer and named vice president, Global Programs & Purchasing Operations, and that Burt Jordan is elected a Ford Motor Company officer and named vice president, Global Vehicle and Powertrain Purchasing & Supplier Diversity. Both will report to Thai-Tang.

Currently executive director, Global Programs and the Americas Purchasing, Behrendt will have operational purchasing responsibility for all the regions of the world and for partnering with Ford’s suppliers to accelerate their integration into the early phases of the company’s global product development system. She also will help drive operational efficiency across each of the company’s business units, leveraging Ford’s global scale to improve costs and operational efficiency. Behrendt joined Ford in 1978 and has served in a variety of leadership positions within global commodity management, powertrain operations and purchasing in Europe and the U.S. She frequently has been honored as one of the industry’s top female automotive leaders.

Currently executive director, Global Vehicle and Powertrain Purchasing, Jordan will be responsible for all commodity-related purchasing and supplier sourcing around the world.

This includes more than $70 billion in parts and commodities for Ford’s worldwide operations, as well as leading the company’s Supplier Diversity Office. Since joining Ford in 1999, Jordan has led Ford’s Purchasing activities in Asia Pacific and at Mazda, and has extensive experience in vehicle and powertrain purchasing – most recently leading the company’s global powertrain and vehicle purchasing organization. He has been honored several times as one of the industry’s most influential African American automotive business leaders.

In parallel with these moves, Kumar Galhotra is appointed vice president, Engineering, succeeding Thai-Tang. Currently vice president, Product Development, Asia Pacific, Galhotra will oversee global engineering for the development of all Ford and Lincoln vehicles. He will report to Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development. Since joining the company in 1988, Galhotra has held various positions in product development. In his recent role, he has led the team that developed Ford’s aggressive plan to bring more than 50 new vehicles and powertrains to Asia Pacific by mid-decade.

Succeeding Galhotra is Trevor Worthington, who is elected a Ford Motor Company officer and appointed vice president, Product Development, Asia Pacific, based in Shanghai. Worthington currently is a Vehicle Line Director within Ford’s Asia Pacific Product Development organization and previously led product planning and strategy for Ford Asia Pacific. In his new role, Worthington will be responsible for continuing the acceleration of new products to support Ford’s aggressive growth plans in Asia Pacific. He will report to Dave Schoch, group vice president and president, Ford Asia Pacific and Raj Nair.

All appointments are effective Aug. 1.