Ford Names New President of Lincoln Brand

Ford Motor Company has named a new president of the Lincoln brand, promoting Kumar Galhotra, who is currently the automaker's vice president of engineering.

CEO Mark Fields appointed Galhotra president of Lincoln effective Sept. 1 in one of his first personnel shifts since becoming Ford's chief executive this month, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

Galhotra replaces Jim Farley, who will retain his position as Ford's global marketing chief and his title as executive vice president of global marketing, sales and service.

"He will very much still be involved with developing the Ford and Lincoln brand, that hasn't changed," Ford spokeswoman Susan Krusel told Businessweek. "He'll just be solely dedicated to marketing, sales and service."

Fields and Farley collaborated to persuade former Ford CEO Alan Mulally not to kill the Lincoln brand, a move that was talked about last year, sources familiar with the matter have said.

Named head of Lincoln in December 2012, Farley has been multitasking to lead Lincoln while overseeing Ford's global marketing.

Farley "has been doing both jobs and now Lincoln has some product and sales momentum under its belt, it's taking on global products and new dealers in China," Krusel told Businessweek. "The business felt it was the right time to have a dedicated leader for the brand."

The Lincoln brand is behind most of its rivals in the premium vehicle segment; its U.S. sales fell slightly last month but have risen 16 percent in the second half of the year, according to Reuters. Mercedes-Benz, which leads the pack in the premium sector, sells more than three cars to Lincoln's one in the U.S.

Also Tuesday, Ford announced that an executive from aerospace firm Lockheed Martin will lead the automaker's research operations.