Ford Names New Sales Chief
Ford Motor Co., whose U.S. sales declined 5.2% in the first quarter, named Steve Lyons as its North American sales chief, replacing Earl Hesterberg, who resigned after only six months on the job.
Hesterberg, 51, will become chief executive of Group 1 Automotive Inc. in Houston, a publicly traded auto retailer, according to a statement from that company. Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said the departure wasn’t related to this year’s sales decline at Ford, the second-biggest U.S. automaker.
Lyons, 56, had been head of the company’s flagship Ford division, which accounts for more than 80% of the company’s U.S. sales.
Ford shares and bonds fell Monday after Chief Executive William Clay Ford Jr. late last week cut the company’s 2005 profit forecast amid plunging sales of U.S. pickups and sport utility vehicles. The company said Friday that it expected its auto operations to “break even at best,” and backed off a Jan. 25 forecast of $1.5 billion in pretax auto profit this year and a pretax profit target of $7 billion for 2006, set three years ago.
Ford shares fell 59 cents to $10.44 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Ford and rival General Motors Corp., which cut its 2005 earnings forecast March 16, have been losing market share to Toyota Motor Corp. and other Asian competitors.
Darryl Hazel, 56, chief of the Lincoln-Mercury division, will take over for Lyons, Ford said in a statement. Al Giombetti, 48, was named head of Lincoln-Mercury.
Hesterberg began his Ford career in 1975 and left in 1982. He is a former head of Nissan Motor Co. sales units in the U.S. and Europe and was chief executive of Gulf States Toyota Inc., an independent Toyota distributor in Houston, before returning to Ford.
He became Ford’s North American sales chief Sept. 10, succeeding Jim O’Connor, who retired after 40 years at Ford and Lincoln-Mercury sales and service units.
Ford’s 5.2% U.S. sales decline in the quarter compares with an industrywide decline of 0.4%. Ford’s share of the U.S. market declined to 19.5% during the quarter from 20.4% a year earlier.
