By Mike Ramsey
For the second time in the past month, Ford Motor Co. has added
a former General Motors Co. executive to its leadership team amid a
decline in U.S. market share.
Mark LaNeve, the head of GM sales before that company went
bankrupt in 2009, has been named Ford's U.S. sales chief. Mr.
LaNeve, 55, had most recently been chief operating officer at
Global Team Detroit, which is an advertising firm devoted to
working on Ford advertising.
The appointment follows closely behind the hiring of Paul Ballew
to Ford's newly created position of chief data officer. Mr. Ballew
had been GM's chief sales analyst before leaving for Nationwide
Insurance several years ago.
The moves come amid a bit of a shake-up taking place in Ford's
U.S. sales and marketing organization under Chief Executive Mark
Fields. Late last year, Ford longtime marketing chief Jim Farley
was reassigned to run operations. Stephen Odell, meanwhile, was
moved from Europe to the U.S. to take over Mr. Farley's role.
Ford in 2014 lost market share even as the wider auto industry
posted its best performance in nearly a decade. Low gas prices
boosted demand for trucks and SUVs, an area where Ford is strong,
but the auto maker failed to post U.S. sales growth. The struggle
came during a key model changeover taking place with its
best-selling F-150 pickup truck.
Messrs LaNeve and Ballew were high-profile executives during the
years leading to GM's government bailout. Mr. Ballew left GM in
2007, and Mr. LaNeve left a few months after GM exited bankruptcy
protection in 2009.
Ford was the lone auto maker in Detroit's Big 3 to avoid
bankruptcy. John Felice--one of the key Ford marketing executives
responsible for helping significantly lift U.S. sales following the
financial crisis--is retiring, making room for Mr. LaNeve. Mr.
LaNeve will report to Mr. Odell and Ford's head of North American
operations, Joe Hinrichs.
Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com
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