Ford named Kumar Galhotra, who previously served as president of Ford Blue, as its new chief operating officer, according to a press release Wednesday. He will report to Ford CEO Jim Farley.
Galhotra joined Ford in 1988. Before leading Ford Blue, which focuses on the automaker’s traditional gas and hybrid vehicle business, Galhotra served as president of Ford Americas and the company’s International Markets Group, where he was responsible for the profitability of Ford’s business units.
As COO, Galhotra will be responsible for minimizing the costs and complexity of Ford’s vehicles. He will also oversee global vehicle engineering and cycle planning, internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicle programs, supply chain management and vehicle manufacturing, according to the company.
Ford said Galhotra would work with Doug Field, Ford’s current chief electric vehicle, digital and design officer, to drive innovation at the automaker and speed up the development of EVs, digital platforms and software for Ford’s entire vehicle lineup.
“Doug and Kumar’s teams will support our customers and the businesses that serve them by rooting out waste, reducing costs and raising quality — in design and development, supply chain and manufacturing,” Farley said in a statement.
Ford also announced Andrew Frick will take over Galhotra’s former role as president of Ford Blue. Frick previously managed Ford Blue’s sales and distribution functions for trucks, SUVs and enthusiast vehicles, as well as operations in Mexico and Canada.
“These moves will drive clarity and simplicity across Ford, so we can significantly ramp up our capabilities and combine them with businesses that are focused on the needs of different customers,” Farley said.
The new appointments follow other key executive appointments at Ford announced recently, including Lisa Materazzo as its global chief marketing officer, Elena Ford as its chief dealer engagement officer and Peter Stern as president of Ford Integrated Services business.
Farley announced the Ford+ transformation plan in May 2021, calling it the company’s “biggest opportunity for growth and value creation since Henry Ford scaled production of the Model T.” The Ford+ initiatives include improving financial performance and creating an efficient end-to-end global industrial system for all Ford vehicles, including EVs.
By March 2022, Ford said it was splitting its business into three core units: Ford Blue, Ford Model e and Ford Pro.
The new executive appointments come as Ford struggles to ramp up its EV sales while maintaining its profitability. In July, Ford announced that its Model e business would lose $4.5 billion this year, a 50% jump from previous projections.
However, the automaker expects its Ford Pro commercial division and Ford Blue to help offset the massive EV losses it expects in 2023, with revenue increasing 12% year-over-year to $45 billion.
