Ford Hires EBay's Suzy Deering as Global Chief Marketing Officer

Ford has hired Suzy Deering as global chief marketing officer to help execute its plan to unlock customer and company value. Deering will join Ford as head of Global Marketing on January 4, 2021, from worldwide and North America CMO at eBay for five-plus years.

Deering will succeed Joy Falotico as Ford CMO. The company previously announced that Falotico, who has been managing both marketing and the Lincoln brand for the past three years, will be dedicated solely to her role as president of the Lincoln Motor Company, Ford’s strategically important and growing luxury vehicle brand.

At Ford, Deering will run all marketing operations in North America, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the company’s automotive revenue, including customer intelligence and product and consumer marketing. Deering is said to be accomplished at using technology, data, and analytics to anticipate customer needs and fulfill them. She will be the global leader for modernizing marketing, driving brand strategy and best practices, and developing marketing talent.

“We’re putting more decision-making in the hands of our people who are closest to customers,” said Kumar Galhotra, president, Ford Americas and International Markets Group, to whom Deering will report. “That makes marketing more important than ever and Suzy’s background will be vital to modernizing our approach, dialing-up our understanding of customer ambitions and redefining our brands to help us grow.”

“Technology will be a powerful part of Ford’s transformation and how we enhance and release the huge value of our iconic brands,” said Deering. “My team will be involved from end-to-end on behalf of customers – better connecting with them, using data to foresee and deliver what they need, and earning and keeping their trust.”

At eBay, Deering was credited with reviving the global e-commerce company’s brand and enable a sharp increase in revenue over the past two years, driving integrated buyer and seller marketing programs in North America. She connected eBay’s customers through innovation and a strategic marketing perspective. Overseeing eBay’s messaging and investment decisions, she improved marketing ROI, optimized marketing spend allocation, steered cross-channel impact, and managed partners and agencies.

Earlier, she was CEO of Moxie, a technology-led digital marketing, and customer relationship management agency. Prior to that, she spent 13 years at Verizon Wireless, the last two as executive director of Media, Engagements and Integrations. Deering holds a bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the University of Georgia.

[Image: Ford Motor Company]