Ford has announced a series of changes within its senior leadership team. The main change is in the area of purchasing.
Tony Brown, group vice president, Global Purchasing, has elected to retire. Capping a career spanning more than 36 years, Brown has been Ford’s global purchasing leader for the past 11 years. He joined Ford in July 1999, after serving in a variety of senior purchasing leadership positions inside and outside the auto industry.
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“Tony Brown is a world-class business leader who has helped to transform Ford’s relationships with our global supplier partners,” said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. “Tony’s leadership and dedication to working together have helped Ford and our supplier partners emerge from the recent global transformation of the auto industry well-positioned for future growth.”
Succeeding Brown as group vice president, Global Purchasing is Hau Thai-Tang, who will report to Mark Fields, Ford’s chief operating officer. Thai-Tang currently is vice president, Engineering.
“We have a significant opportunity going forward to further realize our One Ford vision in purchasing,” Fields said. “Ford purchases $90 billion of production and non-production goods and services each year around the world. Building on his extensive global product knowledge, Hau is the right leader to take our purchasing effectiveness and efficiency to the next level and unlock the full benefits of our scale and commonality.”
