A key driver of the Ford+ plan to grow and create value for customers and other stakeholders has a new leader, with Ford naming former Groupe Renault executive Franck Louis-Victor to head the company’s New Businesses Platform team.
Louis-Victor, 48, who will start with Ford on July 1, will be accountable for developing and executing a comprehensive strategic plan that includes the company’s existing and emerging portfolio of capabilities in areas like autonomous vehicles and mobility services, as well as Ford’s incubator, Ford X.
“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,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley. “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.”
Louis-Victor brings to Ford more than 20 years of experience in data and mobility startups, connected vehicles, and new services within both long-established companies and enterprises that he founded and led. Most recently, Louis-Victor oversaw development and implementation of new business models and revenue streams for Renault, including an augmented multimedia system that brought together startups to design and develop new technology and services for vehicle platforms and artificial intelligence.
Scott Griffith, the CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles and Mobility Businesses, will report to Louis-Victor. Griffith has also been serving as the interim lead of the New Businesses.
Louis-Victor and his team will pinpoint areas where Ford can get and stay ahead of competitors in creating more rewarding customer experiences, with high-value moves in the automotive and mobility sectors. That will include strategically disrupting how the company thinks and acts on behalf of those customers.
In addition to Renault, Louis-Victor was alliance global director, Connected Vehicles Cloud and Services for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance for nearly three years from 2016. He spent several years in mobility and automotive startups after beginning his career in information technology in France in 1998.
Louis-Victor has a master’s degree in physics from the University of Bordeaux in France and a bachelor’s degree in Automotive Design from the Franco Sbarro School of Automotive Design in Switzerland.
SOURCE: Ford
