Ford appoints new director to focus on mobility solutions for Europe

Sarah-Jayne Williams will join Ford in September as its first director for Smart Mobility in Europe.

She will report to Ford of Europe president and CEO, Steven Armstrong, and to John Larsen, Ford’s vice president, global operations, Smart Mobility. She will focus on future mobility solutions for Europe, and will work from the new Ford Smart Mobility Innovation office in London.

Armstrong said: “We’re delighted to welcome Sarah-Jayne to the Ford team in Europe. Her role is to tackle urban transportation challenges and opportunities, and respond to the growth of the sharing economy by defining and implementing Ford of Europe’s Smart Mobility strategy. She will focus on accelerating the launch of mobility services across Europe through collaboration, especially with cities, innovation and growing the existing team.”

Williams will be responsible for Ford’s continuing expansion into the mobility arena and lead its new transport initiatives, addressing the needs of major European cities. She will support Ford’s global City Solutions team by working closely with European city planners, public transport agencies and communities to create solutions for the changing needs of both urban dwellers and cities.

Recent European initiatives have included the announcement of a trial later this year of a fleet of plug in hybrid electric (PHEV) Transit delivery vans working with Transport for London and other fleet partners prior to the vehicle going into production in 2019, and in future may include shared services like ridesharing. 

Commenting on her new position, Williams said: “The auto industry is on the cusp of a revolution as great as that when Henry Ford first made the car accessible to the masses over 100 years ago. I’m looking forward to joining the Ford team and to being part of its adventure into the world of Smart Mobility.”

For the past 14 years, Williams was at BearingPoint, a global business consulting firm  where she was a partner in the automotive team and led the company-wide Connected Car Centre of Excellence. She has worked with OEMs and automotive leasing providers to design and deliver new business models, digital strategies and connected car services.

Prior to joining the consulting industry, she worked for Motorola, leading its business and technology transformation programs.

She has published work on connected cars, data privacy, digital customer behaviors, world class digital organisations, and co-authored the book Customer Paradoxes in a Digital World.

She is a past winner of the Management Consulting Association award for marketing consultant of the year, and a joint team winner with Jaguar Land Rover for the 2015 Management Consulting Association digital and technology project of the year for connected car.