Ford Motor Company (FMC) has appointed Neale Hill as president of FMC Africa, effective from October 1.
Hill was formerly FMC of Southern Africa MD.
The appointment is among organisational and leadership changes announced by FMC’s International Markets Group (IMG) on Friday.
It said Hill will lead the company’s strategic drive to transform and modernise Ford’s business across the continent. His responsibilities have been expanded to include Southern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as North Africa – which has its regional headquarters in Casablanca, Morocco, and continues to be led by MD Achraf El Boustani.
“Globally, Ford is leveraging its resources to best serve our customers and treat them like family. As we work to deliver Ford+, our company strategy, we must continue to capitalise on our strengths, transform our automotive operations and deliver must-have products and services across all of our markets,” Ford IMG president Dianne Craig said in a statement.
“Africa plays an important role in IMG, and the new structure – with Neale Hill leading the Ford business for the African continent – will enhance our capabilities, and allow us to work even closer with our dealer and distributor partners to achieve these objectives,” she said.
Hill has a 30-year career with Ford, and was appointed MD of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa in July 2018. Prior to this he served as director of marketing, sales and service for the local organisation from January 2016, following his return to his native South Africa where he started his Ford journey in 1991.
Between 2006 and 2015, Hill held various sales, marketing and senior management roles in Thailand, China, New Zealand and Australia.
Hill said a a key element of the growth plans for Africa would be based on the Ranger pickup, which was assembled in South Africa for export to more than 100 left- and right-hand drive markets globally, including markets across Africa.–
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE