DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it has hired Franck Louis-Victor from French automaker Renault to lead its New Business unit as CEO Jim Farley reshapes his leadership team to carry out his Ford+ growth plan unveiled last month.
Louis-Victor, 48, will oversee the company’s autonomous vehicle and mobility services teams as well as its Ford X incubator. The move is effective July 1.
“We’re accelerating development of disruptive technologies and focusing on being a leader in areas that enhance always-on relationships with customers and give them increasing freedom of movement,” Farley said in a statement. “Franck’s got great experience that will help his team and Ford nurture new ideas through the start-up phase, with the best opportunities launched on their own or integrated into our business units.”
Farley was Ford’s president of New Business, Technology and Strategy for about a year before being named COO in 2020 and, later that year, CEO. Scott Griffith, CEO of Ford’s autonomous vehicles and mobility businesses, has been interim lead of the New Business unit.
Louis-Victor most recently has been vice president of new media and services innovation at Renault. Before that, he was global director of connected cloud and services for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
His appointment comes as Ford prepares to launch an autonomous commercial services business next year. The service was originally scheduled to launch this year but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Ford also owns the Spin scooter company, although Bloomberg reported last month that it was considering divesting the service.
