Ford's Al Ver to Lead New Business Entity

DEARBORN, Mich., June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Al Ver, Ford Motor Company's current vice president of Advanced and Manufacturing Engineering, has been appointed chief executive officer of the Ford-managed business entity the Company is forming later this year to assume control of 24 Visteon Corp. plants and facilities in North America.

Ver, a 37-year industry veteran with 33 years of experience at Ford, will report to Greg Smith, Ford's executive vice president and president, The Americas. Previously, the Company had named Frank Macher the new business entity's CEO, and Ver as its president and chief operating officer. However, the Company and Macher could not come to terms on a final employment agreement. With his new appointment, Ver will hold the titles of CEO and COO at the yet-to-be-named business entity. Ver's successor will be named at a later date.

Ford announced its plans to form the new business entity on May 25 after the Company and Visteon signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which called for the transfer of 24 of the supplier's plants and facilities in the U.S. and Mexico to a Ford-managed entity. Over time, the Ford-managed entity would prepare most of these transferred Visteon operations for sale to companies with the expertise and capital to supply Ford with parts, systems and technologies that are competitive in price and quality. The MOU is subject to customary approvals and is expected to result in a closed transaction by September 30.

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 324,000 employees worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company and The Hertz Corporation.