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Barb Samardzich

Blue ribbon: One of Ford’s top engineers over more than two decades, Barb Samardzich has most recently played a key role in turning around the Blue Oval’s fortunes in Europe.

ONE of Ford’s highest-ranking female executives, Ford of Europe chief operating officer Barb Samardzich, has elected to retire on October 1 after more than 26 years of service.

A vice-president of the US auto giant, Ms Samardzich, 57, will be succeeded by Steven Armstrong – a 52-year-old Brit who has similarly spent some 25 years with Ford and its subsidiary brands, and is currently serving as president of Ford South America.

Lyle Watters, 51, another Brit who has worked for the Blue Oval in various markets over almost three decades, currently as chief financial officer and vice-president of finance and strategic planning for Ford of Europe, returns to South America as head of Ford’s operations in the region. He previously served there as CFO.

Ford has also announced that vice-president and company treasurer Neil Schloss, 57, has added the newly created role of CFO of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a recently established subsidiary formed “to design, build, grow and invest in emerging mobility services”.

Ford Motor Company president and CEO Mark Fields paid tribute to Ms Samardzich, who has served in a variety of leadership positions in the US and Europe and is credited with playing a key role in returning Ford to profitability in Europe last year for the first time since 2011 – and achieving outstanding earnings growth this year.

She was previously product development chief for Ford of Europe, having earlier overseen global product programs and powertrain engineering, the latter covering engine and transmission engineering worldwide.

Over the years Ms Samardzich has been responsible for the design, engineering and development of nine key Ford and Lincoln vehicles, particularly small front-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive vehicles. A highlight was the 2005 Mustang.

As Ford of Europe CFO she has overseen many of the company’s operations in the region including manufacturing, quality, product development, purchasing, and sustainability, environment and safety engineering.

“Barb’s leadership and expertise have been critical to the transformation of our Ford of Europe business into a vibrant and profitable organisation,” Mr Fields said.

“Over the course of her career, she was instrumental in developing our global powertrain line-up, along with guiding the design and engineering of many Ford vehicles including Mustang and F-Series Super Duty.

“We are grateful for her many contributions and strong leadership over the years.”

Before joining Ford in 1990, Ms Samardzich worked as a thermal design engineer in Westinghouse Electric’s nuclear fuels division.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and a master’s degree in engineering management from Wayne State University.

She sits on the board of several universities and non-profit organisations and, as one of the most influential women in the automotive industry, has received a string of honours and accolades over many years.

By Terry Martin

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