FDM Group Regulatory News (FDM)

9 Aug 2006 13:57

Ford Motor Co09 August 2006 Contact: Marcey Evans (313) 322-9211 mevans13@ford.com FORD ANNOUNCES KEY EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS IN INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND FINANCE • John Parker, with 40 years of international experience at Ford Motor Company,is elected group vice president, Asia Pacific and Africa. Parker previously heldthe position of senior executive vice president, Mazda Motor Corporation. • Bob Graziano is elected a vice president of Ford Motor Company and isappointed to the position of executive vice president, Mazda Motor Corporation. • Jim Gouin is appointed vice president, Finance, Strategy and BusinessDevelopment, International Operations. Gouin currently serves as vice presidentand controller. • Peter Daniel is elected senior vice president and controller. Danielpreviously served in the position of vice president, Ford Asia Pacific andAfrica, which is being eliminated with today's announced changes. DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 9 - Ford Motor Company today announced a series ofexecutive changes in International Operations and corporate Finance. Thesechanges are expected to deliver more focused development and execution of growthinitiatives within Asia Pacific and Africa, and to provide a better platform forfurther integration and alignment of strategies across all of InternationalOperations. The following changes are effective Sept. 1, 2006. John Parker, 58, senior executive vice president, Mazda Motor Corporation, isappointed to the position of group vice president, Asia Pacific and Africa.Parker, who will be based in Bangkok, Thailand, will have responsibility forcoordination of all Ford operations and partnerships within Asia Pacific andAfrica, and will continue to manage Mazda's business at the Board level. He willreport to Mark Schulz, executive vice president and president, InternationalOperations. Parker joined Ford South Africa in 1965. He has held numerousinternational positions in Product Development, Manufacturing and generalmanagement, including assignments with Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa operationsin South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and India. "John has a vast international automotive background and is one of our mostexperienced leaders," Schulz said. "Since he began his career with Ford he hasserved in a number of roles throughout Asia Pacific. He knows the regionextremely well, and he has the leadership skills to drive implementation of ourgrowth plans. With this appointment, we are strengthening and consolidatingresponsibility for all of our operations and partnerships in Asia with a singleexecutive located in the region." Succeeding Parker at Mazda is Bob Graziano, 47, currently President and CEO,Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. Graziano is elected a Ford Motor Companyvice president and is appointed executive vice president, Mazda MotorCorporation. In this role, Graziano will have primary responsibility forResearch and Development, Quality, Marketing and Sales, IT and environmentalinitiatives. He will report to Hisakazu Imaki, Mazda Chairman of the Board,president and CEO. His successor at Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa willbe named at a later date. Graziano joined Ford Motor Company in 1982 as a sales analyst in the Omaha FordDistrict office. He then held a number of positions, primarily in productplanning and Sales and Marketing, including general marketing manager, FordBrazil and strategic marketing director, Ford South America. Prior to hisposition in Southern Africa, Graziano was director, product strategy andplanning for Ford North America. "Bob brings to Mazda a wide range of experience, including that of developingmarkets. This is pertinent as we seek to grow our business in Asia," Imaki said."Bob will play a key role in driving Mazda toward a solid and sustainablefuture." Jim Gouin, 46, currently the company's vice president and controller, isappointed vice president, Finance, Strategy and Business Development,International Operations. Gouin will report to Schulz and to Don Leclair, FordMotor Company executive vice president and chief financial officer. In his newrole, Gouin will have responsibility for all finance, strategy and businessdevelopment activities within International Operations, as well as operationalresponsibility for markets covered by the Export and Growth organization, whichincludes the Middle East and more than 100 other export markets. Gouin joined the company in 1979 in accounting and has held a variety ofpositions of increasing responsibility in Finance, North America AutomotiveOperations, Vehicle Operations and Marketing and Sales throughout his career.Prior to his current role as the company's vice president and controller, Gouinserved as controller, North America. "Jim's experience in the company's key operations, and especially his mostrecent leadership role in Finance, will be a major asset to the InternationalOperations organization," said Schulz. "Jim's responsibility will go beyond thefinancial aspects of the organization. He also will be responsible for businessdevelopment activities for International Operations, and he is well equipped tohandle such a task." Peter Daniel, 59, currently vice president, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, iselected senior vice president and controller of Ford Motor Company. He willreport to Leclair. Daniel, who joined Ford Motor Company in 1971, has held numerous internationalpositions in Finance, including assignments with Ford's operations in SouthAmerica and Asia Pacific. His roles have included assignments in Thailand,Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia and Brazil. Prior to becoming vice president,Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, Daniel served as controller of the Americas andfor the company's manufacturing organization. "In his more than 30 years with the company, Peter has held many key roles inFinance," said Leclair. "The operating and finance experience he brings to thisposition will serve the company very well in these difficult times. Peter and Ihave worked together on many occasions over the years, and I look forward toworking closely with him again." Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn,Mich., manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across sixcontinents. With about 300,000 employees worldwide, the company's core andaffiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover,Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related service includes FordMotor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, pleasevisit www.fordvehicles.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange