Ford CFO Lewis Booth And Global Product Chief Derrick Kuzak To Retire; Ford Names Jon Huntsman To Board Of Directors
Ford Motor Company announced on February 9 that Lewis Booth, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Derrick Kuzak, Group Vice President, Global Product Development, have elected to retire effective April 1. Each has served the automaker for more than 30 years.
Booth, 63, will be succeeded by Bob Shanks, who is currently Vice President and Controller. Kuzak, 60, will be succeeded by Raj Nair, who is currently Vice President, Engineering, Global Product Development. Shanks and Nair assume their new positions April 1.
In addition to these changes, Ford is announcing the following moves, also effective April 1: Stuart Rowley, 44, currently Chief Financial Officer, Ford of Europe, has been elected a company officer and will succeed Shanks as Vice President and Controller. Hau Thai-Tang, 45, currently Executive Director, Global Product Programs, has been elected a company officer and will succeed Nair as Vice President, Engineering, Global Product Development.
The company also announced the election of Jon M. Huntsman Jr. to the company's Board of Directors effective immediately.
Huntsman, 51, is Chairman of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, a Utah-based cancer charity. The former Republican candidate for President of the United States has served in numerous public and private positions around the world, most recently as the United States Ambassador to China.
"Jon brings to Ford's Board of Directors extensive global knowledge and experience – particularly in Asia with trade issues – and operational experience gained as governor of Utah, a state that has grown jobs even during the economic crisis," said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford. "Jon understands the importance of strengthening the country's manufacturing base, which will contribute to our success going forward."
Huntsman was twice elected Governor of Utah, serving from 2005 to 2009. His public service career began as a White House staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan and has since included appointments as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia, U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative.
Huntsman is a founding director of the Pacific Council on International Policy and has served on various boards such as the Brookings Institute Asia Policy Board, the Center for Strategic and International Studies Pacific Forum, the Asia Society in New York, and the National Bureau of Asian Research.
The former Presidential candidate is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and has six honorary doctorate degrees.
