FDM Group Regulatory News (FDM)

15 Dec 2006 07:58

Ford Motor Co14 December 2006 Contact: Marcey Evans 313.322.9211 mevans13@ford.com FORD ANNOUNCES CORPORATE REALIGNMENT • Additional Focus on Worldwide Markets and Customers • Improves Leverage of Global Assets and Capabilities DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 14 - Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) President and CEO AlanMulally today announced a realignment of the company's organization that putsadditional focus on its worldwide markets and customers while better leveragingthe company's global assets and capabilities. Reporting directly to Mulally under the new structure are the company's threeautomotive business unit leaders: Mark Fields, Ford of the Americas; LewisBooth, Ford of Europe and the Premier Automotive Group; and John Parker, Ford ofAsia Pacific and Africa, and Mazda. In support of the business units, Derrick Kuzak will lead global productdevelopment, and report to Mulally. He will also continue to be responsible forproduct development for the Americas. J Mays continues to lead Ford design andwill support Kuzak. Also now reporting to Mulally, and similarly focused on using the company'sglobal assets to better support its automotive business units, are: Tony Brown,purchasing; Bennie Fowler, quality and advanced manufacturing engineering; NickSmither, information technology; and Richard Parry-Jones, chief technicalofficer. Mulally's other direct reports remain unchanged. "An integrated, global product development team supporting our automotivebusiness units will enable us to make the best use of our global assets andcapabilities and accelerate development of the new vehicles our customersprefer, and do so more efficiently," Mulally said. "This new leadership willenable us to work together more effectively as one Ford team to continuouslyimprove the quality, productivity and speed of our product development process." 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 and more than 100 plants worldwide, thecompany's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford,Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-relatedservices include Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regardingFord's products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com. Go to http://media.ford.com for news releases and high-resolution photographs. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange