Ford Motor is replacing two of the senior executives who have played critical roles in six-year-old transformation of the carmaker. Lewis Booth, chief financial officer, and Derrick Kuzak, head of global product development, will both retire, with successors due to replace them on April 1.
The executive shake-up is one of the largest undertaken by Alan Mulally since he took over as chief executive in 2006. Mr Mulally, who is 66 and faces increasing questions about the length of his own tenure as CEO, said at present he himself had no intention of retiring but that a plan had been drawn up to replace him.
The company also said it had named to its board Jon Huntsman, the former US ambassador to China and Utah governor who recently dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination.