Ford Retail Appoints Stuart Kerr As New CEO

BRENTWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM – Nov 3, 2011: Ford of Britain's wholly owned dealer group, Ford Retail, is announcing the appointment of Stuart Kerr as CEO, following the departure of Chris Hayden.

Stuart Kerr was previously Regional President for Volvo Car Corporation in Europe. He has extensive experience in vehicle retailing, including the successful launch of Volvo distributorship and dealership operations in South Africa. He is recognised in the industry as a proven achiever, with a deep knowledge of the sales and marketing aspects of the industry.

Ford of Europe Vice President Marketing Sales and Service, Roelant de Waard, said: "Stuart is the right person to take on this important industry role and to build on the work done by Chris Hayden in profitably developing Ford Retail into a customer-focused business worthy of our best-ever range of products."

With 60 sites spanning Britain, the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland, Ford Retail is one of the largest dealer groups in the UK and the largest Ford dealer group in the world.

Retailing under strong regional brands such as Dagenham Motors, Polar Ford, Heartlands Ford, Brunel Ford and Lindsay Ford, it employs more than 3,000 people and sells around 75,000 vehicles a year with a turnover exceeding £1 billion. It also has a dedicated parts business trading as @First Parts Solutions.

Angus Brown, who has been the Ford Retail acting CEO for the last few months, will return to his post as Ford Retail Parts Operations Director.