DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday made several executive moves in its international operations, including added responsibility for one of several possible candidates to succeed CEO Alan Mulally should he decide to retire.
Joe Hinrichs, former global manufacturing chief who is now president of Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa operations, will take on the added role of chairman and CEO of Ford of China starting Nov. 1. Hinrichs is among several executives mentioned as possible successors for Mulally.
Ford said Robert Graziano, the CEO of Ford China, will become CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand.
The Dearborn, Mich., company also said that Jeffrey Shen, president of Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ford's joint venture in China with Mazda, will retire on Dec 31. The company named Marin Burela, now CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand, to replace Shen.
Hinrichs' added responsibilities reflect the importance of Ford's growth in the world's largest automotive market, the company said in a statement. Ford expects 70 percent of its growth in the next 10 years to be in the Asia Pacific and Africa region, most coming from China.
The company said it has invested $4 billion in the region since 2006, and it now employs 25,000 people there.
Mulally, hired from aircraft giant Boeing Co. in 2006, is widely credited for turning Ford around and making it profitable without government aid. He is 65 years old but has said he is having fun and has no plans to retire.
Ford's bench is filling with candidates who might replace him, including Hinrichs, Americas president Mark Fields, marketing chief Jim Farley and product development chief Derrick Kuzak.
Joe Hinrichs, former global manufacturing chief who is now president of Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa operations, will take on the added role of chairman and CEO of Ford of China starting Nov. 1. Hinrichs is among several executives mentioned as possible successors for Mulally.
Ford said Robert Graziano, the CEO of Ford China, will become CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand.
The Dearborn, Mich., company also said that Jeffrey Shen, president of Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ford's joint venture in China with Mazda, will retire on Dec 31. The company named Marin Burela, now CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand, to replace Shen.
Hinrichs' added responsibilities reflect the importance of Ford's growth in the world's largest automotive market, the company said in a statement. Ford expects 70 percent of its growth in the next 10 years to be in the Asia Pacific and Africa region, most coming from China.
The company said it has invested $4 billion in the region since 2006, and it now employs 25,000 people there.
Mulally, hired from aircraft giant Boeing Co. in 2006, is widely credited for turning Ford around and making it profitable without government aid. He is 65 years old but has said he is having fun and has no plans to retire.
Ford's bench is filling with candidates who might replace him, including Hinrichs, Americas president Mark Fields, marketing chief Jim Farley and product development chief Derrick Kuzak.
