Ford India appoints Nigel E Wark as Executive Director for marketing, sales and service

Chennai: Ford India today announced the appointment of Nigel E. Wark to the newly-created position of Executive Director for Marketing, Sales and Service, effective 1 March, 2008. He will report directly to Arvind Mathew, President and Managing Director of Ford India.

Wark was previously Executive Director of Sales for the Asia Pacific and Africa (APA) region, based in Bangkok, Thailand.

In his new role, Wark has the overall responsibility for Marketing, Sales and Customer Service Operations in support of Ford India's expected rapid future growth through capacity expansion and a major shift into the high volume segment.

''India is a vital component of Ford Motor Company's strategy for the Asia Pacific region, and Nigel's new role will be critical to supporting the huge investment and expansion plans that are already underway here. He brings immense experience to our operations, and his knowledge and strategic direction will be a welcome addition to our leadership team," said Arvind. "Nigel's appointment follows key senior appointments last year aimed at bolstering our management team to support our aggressive growth strategy."

Wark has extensive experience in sales, marketing and service and a strong knowledge of the 12 markets comprising Ford's APA region. Prior to his role as Executive Director of Sales for APA, Wark served as Director of Customer Service for APA for nearly 5 years. In this role, he was responsible for all service strategies and customer loyalty for the region, including Service Marketing, Quality Care, input into product development, brand alignment, marketing, service and technical competency, parts supply and logistics, customer satisfaction, training and development, and implementing customer focused synergies for the APA organization.

Prior to this, Wark held the position of General Manager Ford Customer Service Division for Ford of Australia, as well as a short term as General Sales Manager for Ford Australia upon his return from a 5-year assignment at Ford New Zealand.

From 1995 to 2000, Wark served as Marketing Sales & Service Director, Ford New Zealand before being promoted to Managing Director after just two years. Having started his career with Ford Australia in their South Australian regional office in 1975, Wark completed an extensive rotation of regional assignments, and moved to the Head Office in Melbourne in 1985. Next, he was appointed General Zone Manager for Eastern Region, the largest region in Australia. In 1991, Wark returned to Head Office to take responsibility for Special Markets, after which he became Marketing Manager for Australia before embarking on an international assignment.

Wark earned a Bachelor of Economics degree from Flinders University in Australia in 1974.