- Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) recently announced it is hiring Suzy Deering as a dedicated head of Global Marketing for helping it execute a plan to unlock customer and company value. These are the details.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) recently announced it is hiring a dedicated head of Global Marketing for helping it execute a plan to unlock customer and company value. Suzy Deering is going to join Ford as global chief marketing officer on January 4, following more than 5 years as worldwide and North America CMO at eBay. Deering is going to succeed Joy Falotico as Ford CMO.
Previously, Ford had announced that Falotico is going to be dedicated solely to her role as president of the Lincoln Motor Company, Ford’s luxury vehicle brand. She has been managing both areas for the past 3 years. And Linda Cash also elected to retire from Ford effective January 1, marking 36 years with the company, the last 3 as VP, Quality and New Model Launch Program.
Suzy Deering
Deering is known for being accomplished at using technology, data, and analytics to anticipate customer needs and fulfill them with human-centered products and services. And at Ford, she will be the global leader for modernizing marketing, driving brand strategy and best practices, and developing marketing talent. Plus she will run all marketing operations in North America — which accounts for more than 70% of Ford’s automotive revenue, including customer intelligence and product and consumer marketing.
At eBay, Deering had helped revive the global e-commerce company’s brand and enable a sharp increase in revenue over the past 2 years. Earlier, she was CEO of Moxie (a technology-led marketing agency) and 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.
Chris Brewer will assume Cash’s responsibilities for quality as executive director, Quality. The company had earlier announced that Ron Johnson will take on product launch responsibilities. Both Brewer and Johnson will report to Lisa Drake, chief operating officer for North America.
Brewer — who has been with Ford since 1986 — was most recently director, Vehicle Programs, for Trucks and SUVs. And he has extensive experience leading product development programs, including for an all-new Transit commercial van for North America and Europe while based in Dunton, U.K. A Texas native, Brewer holds degrees in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Linda Cash
In the final role at Ford, Cash (a company officer since 2016), has been responsible for driving worldwide vehicle quality processes from design through production, including for new-model launches. Her previous assignments included both vice president, Manufacturing, and director, Vehicle Operations, for Ford of Europe.
As a steadfast advocate for customers, quality, and safety, Cash has also long been an advisor and mentor to colleagues and a champion for diversity across the company, including through Women in Manufacturing and the Ford-Employees African-Ancestry Network (FAAN). FAAN was started in 1994 as the first of the company’s multicultural employee-resource groups.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’re putting more decision-making in the hands of our people who are closest to customers. That makes marketing more important than ever and Suzy’s world-class background will be vital to modernizing our approach, dialing-up our understanding of customer ambitions and redefining our brands to help us grow.”
“Linda has always been an innovator. She’s a remarkable leader and change agent, someone who can pivot quickly and effectively as circumstances evolve, and her contributions to Ford have been invaluable.”
— Kumar Galhotra, president, Ford Americas and International Markets Group. Deering will be reporting to Galhotra.
“Technology will be a powerful part of Ford’s transformation and how we enhance and release the huge value of our iconic brands. 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.”
— Suzy Deering
