As Ford's Mobility Chief Heads Out the Door, Hackett's Top Deputies Take on New Roles

Ford Motor Company veteran Marcy Klevorn is set to retire come October, leaving her position as head of mobility in need of filling. No need for new blood in Ford’s C-suite, however, as there’s apparently room on Jim Farley’s plate.

Farley, Ford’s head of global markets, will add a new hat to his wardrobe even before Klevorn, 59, leaves the Glass House. Klevorn, whose tenure at Ford spans 36 years, will move to a (brief) new role after Farley dons the title of president of businesses, technology and strategy. There’s new responsibilities and a new title for global operations head Joe Hinrichs, too.

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Mazda Shakes Up Its North American Team Ahead of Crossover Push

Masahiro Moro, president and CEO of Mazda’s crucial North American business, clearly has the full confidence of company boss Akira Marumoto. In an executive shuffle announced Wednesday, Moro (seen above, on the left) retains his chief executive title and adds chairman of Mazda North American Operations to his CV, bringing Canada and Mexico under his purview.

At the same time, Jeff Guyton, CEO of Mazda Motor Europe for the past decade, was named president of Mazda North American Operations. The changes, effective April 1st, come as Mazda prepares to boost its North American volume with the addition of two strategically positioned crossovers.

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GM North America Prez Alan Batey Hangs Up His Boots

A familiar face in General Motors’ executive ranks is heading into retirement, the company has announced. Alan S. Batey, president of GM’s North American operations, plans to retire effective April 1st — four decades after joining the automaker.

Stepping into Batey’s shoes, albeit with a different title, is GM International President Barry Engle, a relative newcomer to the company.

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Ghosn Gone: Jailed Exec Hands Over Renault, Closing the Last Chapter in His Alliance Reign

After an unceremonious booting from the chairman role at Nissan and Mitsubishi, Carlos Ghosn’s departure from alliance member Renault was more orderly. As expected, the French automaker’s board accepted the jailed executive’s resignation Thursday, handing over the CEO and chairman roles to Thierry Bolloré and Michelin CEO Jean-Dominique Senard, respectively.

After building an alliance marrying two major automakers, saving Renault and bolstering Nissan in the process, Ghosn had to leave to save the relationship. There really wasn’t much choice. Tokyo judges kiboshed several attempts to secure bail for the industry titan, who currently resides in a sparse jail cell awaiting trial. The French government, which holds a 15 percent stake in Renault, withdrew its support for the exec last week.

The alliance is Senard’s baby now.

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FCA's Manley Taps Amazon Exec as COO for North America

Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley, thrust unexpectedly into the leader’s chair following Sergio Marchionne’s death in early July, has called on a former Amazon executive to serve as chief operating officer.

The automaker announced Thursday that Mark Stewart, 51, ex Vice President of Operations for the online commerce giant, will take on the role of COO of the critically important North American region, removing that job from Manley’s plate. Like his predecessor, Manley wore more than one hat. Now, it’s up to Stewart to ensure that profits continue climbing in the land of Rams and Jeeps.

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Turfed Cadillac Boss Weighs in on Decision (and So Does Lutz)

Controversial decisions that ruffled the feathers of dealers and brand faithful alike defined the Johan de Nysschen era at Cadillac. Project Pinnacle left the brand’s dealers in revolt, forcing changes and delays in the streamlining, brand-boosting strategy. Meanwhile, many still feel Cadillac is not a marque for Manhattan — the brand’s new home — and that a keeping-up-with-the-Germans product strategy takes the division too far away from its heritage. GM executives may not share those sentiments.

For de Nysschen, the decision to place GM Canada head Steve Carlisle in charge of Cadillac is purely a business decision. He admits he didn’t fulfill the requirements laid out by his superiors.

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Ford Motor Company Loses VP and Brand Officer, First Mobility CEO

There’s two departures occuring at Ford Motor Company for anyone thinking of advancing their career. The automaker announced late Wednesday that Musa Tariq, vice president of the company and Ford’s chief brand officer, is leaving the automaker, effective this week. Joining him is Raj Rao, CEO of Ford Smart Mobility, who takes his leave on the 1st of May.

The mobility division was created in 2016 by former Ford CEO Mark Fields, with Rao serving as its CEO. The subsidiary’s chairman, Jim Hackett, now has a pretty good idea of what Fields’ job entailed. Tariq joined the company in January 2017.

No reason was given for either of the two departures, but the personnel loss leaves Ford with some very important roles to fill.

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Subaru's American Boss to Guide the Brand Worldwide, U.S. Prez Will Keep the Pedal Down

After serving as head honcho of a brand that’s enjoyed 10 consecutive years of sales increases in the United States, Subaru of America CEO Tomomi Nakamura is headed to Japan to work the same kind of magic on the automaker’s global business.

On Friday, Nakauma was tapped as the next president of Subaru Corporation, the multi-armed conglomerate once known as Fuji Heavy Industries. He’s served in that role since 2014. In his place, Subaru of America president Tom Doll takes the biggest office at Subaru of America HQ, making him the first American to hold the position since Subaru took over the U.S. division in the waning days of disco.

It’s now Doll’s responsibility to see that Subaru’s hot streak continues, even in this era of cooling demand and technological disruption.

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Bigland Gets a Break as Fiat Chrysler Shuffles the Executive Deck

There’s going to be a lot less Italian in Reid Bigland’s diet going forward, after Fiat Chrysler Automobiles removed the Alfa Romeo and Maserati portfolios from the high-ranking executive’s oversight. It’s all part of a broader raft of management changes announced today.

Bigland, quite a star in FCA’s upper echelon, will continue in his existing role as head of U.S. sales and president and CEO of FCA Canada. The executive had the two Italian luxury brands dropped in his lap back in May 2016. Earlier in his career, he headed up the Dodge and Ram brands.

Other changes are afoot as FCA attempts to give Alfa and Maserati the full-time guardian the two brands need in order to thrive.

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Former Lamborghini Boss Stephan Winkelmann Leaving Audi Sport to Run Bugatti in 2018

According to a report in Autocar, the rise through Volkswagen Group ranks accomplished by Audi Sport CEO Stephan Winkelmann will continue in 2018.

Formerly a Fiat employee, the 52-year-old Winkelmann became famous in the auto industry during his decade-long run as president and CEO of Lamborghini. Winkelmann then took over at Audi’s Quattro performance division in March 2016 before changing its name to Audi Sport. But the Rome native’s tenure at Audi Sport will reportedly be cut short by Volkswagen Group’s need to fill the lead position at its flagship brand, Bugatti.

If Autocar’s sources are right, look for Winkelmann to take over at Bentley in 2019, as well. Makes you wonder: Winkelmann has climbed from Fiat to Lamborghini to Audi Sport to Bugatti and Bentley. What’s next?

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Volvo's U.S. Sales Are Falling; Company Still Plans to Grow U.S. Sales 80 Percent by 2020

Volvo has lofty expectations for its presence in the U.S. luxury car market, but the Chinese-owned Swedish automaker is going to rely on a new boss to dramatically elevate the brand’s U.S. volume over the next three years.

Lex Kerssemakers, a Dutchman who’s been in charge of Volvo’s North American region for nearly three years, is being shuffled into the equivalent position as Volvo Cars’ senior vice president for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. It’s essentially a straight-up trade: Anders Gustaffson moves over from his role as senior vice president for Europe/Middle East/Africa to inherit Kerssemakers old job, according to Automotive News.

The new boss overseeing Volvo’s U.S. operations brings a retail-oriented perspective, having held his first job as a 14-year-old at his parents’ Volvo dealer in Sweden. Anders Gustaffson also held a role as CEO of Hertz in Sweden and was the leader of Volvo in its home market, as well.

Gustaffson’s predecessor —also his successor — hasn’t shied away from placing a large amount of pressure on Gustaffson’s shoulders. Through the first seven months of 2017, Volvo’s U.S. sales are down 9 percent, diving three times faster than the industry at large. Yet according to Kerssemakers, “Volvo should sell 150,000 vehicles a year in the U.S. [by 2020],” Automotive News reports.

That’s an 80-percent jump in the next three years. Get to work, Mr. Gustafsson.

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The Outsider: New Global BMW Sales Boss Pieter Nota Comes From Royal Philips, Beiersdorf, Unilever

After a near decade-long run at the helm of BMW Group’s sales and marketing department, Ian Robertson is retiring.

Taking over from the Englishman Robertson will be Pieter Nota, a Netherlands native who is anything but representative of the BMW establishment, every inch not automotive industry insider. Nota comes from Royal Philips, where you buy your electric razors, and formerly worked at Beiersdorf (where you buy your Nivea moisturizer) and Unilever, which fills your grocery store shelves with Axe, Hellmann’s, Ben & Jerry’s, and Dove.

I can’t believe it’s not butter a board member.

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Report: New Head of Ford Car and Crossover Design Is Michigander Joel Piaskowski

Ford Motor Company is reportedly creating a new position underneath Moray Callum, Ford’s vice president for design, for Ford of Europe design chief Joel Piaskowski.

Piaskowski, the head of design at Ford of Europe for the last three years, will become the global design head for cars and crossovers, according to Automotive News Europe.

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Volkswagen of America's New Sales and Marketing Chief: Skoda's Werner Eichhorn

One month ago, former Hyundai Motor America sales vice president Derrick Hatami departed Hyundai and ended up in a similar role at Volkswagen of America: executive vice president for sales and marketing.

Hatami moved into his new office on June 12, 2017. Less than two months from now, and two years after Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal erupted in September 2015, Hatami’s new boss will move into his new office. Imported from Skoda, Werner Eichhorn moves to Volkswagen’s North American region as the chief sales and marketing officer.

Together with Hinrich Woebcken, who became CEO of Volkswagen in North America in April 2016, seven months after #dieselgate broke, Hatami and Werner Eichhorn form the nucleus of an all-new sales team at Volkswagen of America.

And not a moment too soon.

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Hyundai U.S. Sales Vice President Derrick Hatami Is Out, Effective Immediately

Updated at 10:00pm on June 6 with response from Hyundai.

Derrick Hatami, Hyundai Motor America’s vice president of sales for less than two years, has been removed from Hyundai’s leadership team as of today, June 6, 2017.

After record annual volume in the 2016 calendar year, Hyundai’s U.S. sales have been falling fast throughout 2017. Year-over-year, Hyundai volume declined in each of the last six months, including an 18-percent decline in May 2017.

That decline enabled partner brand Kia to outsell Hyundai for the first time in the brands’ U.S. history, evidently a source of embarrassment for Hyundai. Having already forced out the company’s U.S. CEO, Dave Zuchowski, just before Christmas last year after Hyundai’s rapid growth stalled, Derrick Hatami’s departure leaves a hole that will be filled in the interim by Hyundai’s southern regional general manager, Sam Brnovich, according to Automotive News.

Last week, Hyundai wasn’t short on excuses for the company’s poor May performance. This week, the excuses were apparently not good enough.

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  • 3SpeedAutomatic R&T could have killed the story before it was released.Now, by pulling it after the fact, they look like idiots!! What's new??
  • Master Baiter "That said, the Inflation Reduction Act apparently does run afoul of WTO rules..."Pfft. The Biden administration doesn't care about rules. The Supreme Court said they couldn't forgive student load debt; they did it anyway. Decorum and tradition says you don't prosecute former presidents; they are doing it anyway. They made the CDC suspend evictions though they had no constitutional authority to do so.
  • 1995 SC Good. To misquote Sheryl Crow "If it makes them unhappy, it can't be that bad"
  • 1995 SC The letters on the hatch aren't big enough. hard pass
  • Ajla Those letters look like they are from AutoZone.