Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has announced a new senior leader to help push its pursuit of high quality, simplicity and low costs for customers and other stakeholders. John Dion will join as Chief Transformation Officer on April 3rd and will report directly to Ford CEO Jim Farley. Dion will watch over global deployment of methodologies and tools based on Lean manufacturing concepts, capabilities that are imperative to realizing the value creation and growth potential of the company’s Ford+ plan. “Henry Ford was doing Lean manufacturing decades before anyone even defined the term,” Farley said. “High value and quality, continuous flow, rooting out waste – those things have been fundamental to who we are for more than a century.
“John’s an expert in all of the principles of Lean, and he and his team will provide our culture the urgency, guidance and support we need to reassert and raise Ford’s reputation for excellence, thrift and growth.”
Dion said the chance to be part of the company right now was too good to pass up.
“Jim and everyone I met spoke with great clarity and candor about what’s possible and required to fulfill the promise of Ford+,” he said. “What I saw isn’t a simple program or initiative, it’s a new way of doing business – to win and create value for customers and everyone who counts on Ford.”
