Suzy Deering – one of a string of women recently promoted within the automotive industry – has been taken on to modernise the company’s marketing and lead the consumer intelligence and product and consumer marketing strategies, Ford said.

Ms Deering has been with eBay for five years. Before that she was CEO of marketing agency Moxie and previously worked on media teams at brands including The Home Depot and Verizon.

She replaces Joy Falotico, who has been in the dual role of CMO of Ford and president of Lincoln Motor Company.

Ms Deering will report to Ford Americas and International Markets Group president Kumar Galhotra, who previously held the CMO role at Ford from 2017 to 2018.

Ms Deering said: “Technology will be a powerful part of Ford’s transformation and how we enhance and release the huge value of our iconic brands.”

“My team will be involved from end-to-end on behalf of customers – better connecting with them, using data to foresee and deliver what they need, and earning and keeping their trust.”

Ford said in a statement that Ms Deering had a great track record of “using technology, data and analytics to anticipate customer needs and fulfill them with human-centered products and services.”

“We’re putting more decision-making in the hands of our people who are closest to customers,” it said.

“That makes marketing more important than ever and Suzy’s world-class background will be vital to modernising our approach, dialing-up our understanding of customer ambitions and redefining our brands to help us grow.”

Other auto brands have also recently made changes to their marketing leadership. In December, Audi named Tara Rush as its new senior vice-president and CMO, and in 2019, Hyundai appointed Angela Zepeda as its new CMO, while Cadillac promoted Melissa Grady to the top marketing role.

Suzy Deering

By Neil Dowling