Gary Whittam

[MrMPuk]

Found this on another one of the Ford forums that I use and thought I would post it up here. Those of you that went to any of the Ford Transit events last year will know this guy and may well have spoken to him, he is also a member of the forum and has even posted here.

I'd like to wish him well in the furture and maybe to seeing if Steve Kimber will fill his role and also come to some of the Transit events planned for this year.

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Ford of Britain completes its 2006 senior management line-up with the announcement of two director-level changes, both of which come into effect on April 1.

Mark Ovenden, 41, has been appointed director marketing Ford of Britain and replaces Steve Hood, who joins Ford Retail, Ford's own dealer group, as director marketing and strategy.

Gary Whittam, commercial vehicle director, Ford of Britain, has elected to retire after more than 27 years with the company, and will be replaced by Steve Kimber. To ensure that the important new Ford Transit is brought to market effectively, Gary will work alongside Steve until he retires on June 1.

Roelant de Waard, Ford of Britain Chairman and MD said: "Steve's in-depth knowledge of dealer operations and marketing will further strengthen one of our key retail operations. Mark has a real passion for brand, and his pan-European experience will be invaluable as we begin one our busiest-ever launch phases. These moves place our best people where they make the biggest contribution."

Mark Ovenden joins Ford of Britain from Ford of Europe where he was European small car brand manager, based at the Dunton research and development centre in Essex.

A graduate of Nottingham University, Ovenden has a wide range of global marketing and sales experience within Ford Motor Company, including stints at Dearborn and Cologne. Most recently he was responsible for the successful 2006 Fiesta and Fusion facelift programmes. Married and with two young daughters, Ovenden, a keen military historian, lives in Terling, Essex.

Gary Whittam started his career as an apprentice truck mechanic in 1972 and joined Ford as a technician in 1978. Within Ford he has worked in most commercial vehicle functions across Europe and the UK. "I have enjoyed a wonderful career," he said, "and progressed much further than I could ever have imagined and achieved almost everything I could have wished for. And I will achieve that final thing – the successful introduction of the new Transit – before I finally retire."

His successor, Steve Kimber, 43, was manager of Ford's field operations and has more than 15 years of experience in a variety of sales and marketing positions at Ford. Latterly he was manager of the European CV marketing team and was also product and commercial vehicle business strategy manager.

Married and with three children, Steve, a graduate of Sheffield University, is a keen club racer and lives in Tonbridge, Kent.

"Gary Whittam will be a hard act to follow," said Roelant de Waard. "He has lived and breathed commercial vehicles all his life and he is one of the industry's great characters. However, I am absolutely confident Steve will make as big an impact on the business as Gary has – and together they will give the new Transit the launch it deserves."

In his new strategic role at Ford Retail, Steve Hood moves closer to the customer facing side of the automotive business. Ford owns more than 50 dealerships in the UK, which account for some 16 per cent of Ford of Britain's annual sales volume.

"The retail side of the business in incredibly competitive," said Hood, "and success here is vitally important to Ford. I'm looking forward to helping Chris Hayden and the team build on the on the progress they have already made."

Date: March 15, 2006
Source: http://media.ford.com/article_display.c ... e_id=22908
Category: Personnel