Top automobile maker, Ford, announced that its former president of its North America division, Raj Nair, has resigned on grounds of misconduct allegations. Nair was forced out of his position after the company investigated an anonymous complaint made on the company’s 24-hour hotline, where the caller accused Nair of misconduct.
Ford has named Chief Marketing Officer and Group Vice President for Lincoln, Kumar Galhotra as Nair’s successor. “Kumar is an incredibly talented executive with a special feel for product and brand. He is also a seasoned leader who knows how to drive a business transformation,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s President of Global Markets, in a statement. “Kumar is the right person to lead our North American business to new levels of operational fitness, product and brand excellence, and profitability.” Galhotra will report to Farley.
Galhotra has worked with Ford for 29 years and was one of the driving forces behind Lincoln’s recent return to the limelight. Prior to that, he was a VP of Engineering and worked on all of Ford and Lincoln’s global truck models. Galhotra’s current position will be filled by Joy Falotico, former CEO of Ford Credit.
“Joy has been a driving force behind not only Ford Credit’s consistently strong financial performance but also its business model innovation and transition to a digital customer platform,” Farley said. “She brings marketing experience and a deep customer focus as Ford enters a very busy new product launch period to drive growth in revenue and profitability.”
From the end of 2014 through December of 2017, Lincoln brand sales in the U.S. grew nearly 18% under Galhotra. Sales fell just under 1 percent last year as the U.S. auto market cooled down.
In a company statement, Nair said, “There have been instances where I have not exhibited leadership behaviors consistent with the principles that the company and I have always espoused.”
Galhotra will assume office from March 1.
