Ford CEO Jim Farley is never one to sit idle, showing that again Monday with the addition of Franck Louis-Victor as the company’s Vice President of New Business.
Formerly with Groupe Renault, he will oversee the New Business Platform team. He reports for duty July 1, according to the company.
“We’re accelerating development of disruptive technologies and focusing on being a leader in areas that enhance always-on relationships with customers and give them increasing freedom of movement,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley in a statement.
“Franck’s got great experience that will help his team and Ford nurture new ideas through the startup phase, with the best opportunities launched on their own or integrated into our business units.”
What does he do?
Louis-Franck will do what it seems like Farley is getting everyone to do these days at warp speed: executive the plan. In this case, it means he’s responsible for developing and implementing a strategy for identifying and engaging all parts of the automaker in its growth areas, such as autonomous vehicles and mobility services.
This effort will also include the automakers incubator, Ford X, the company noted.
With a 20-year history in data and mobility startups, connected vehicles and related services, Louis-Victor should be ideally suited for his new role. In his most recent position at Renault, he oversaw development and implementation of new business models and revenue streams for the French automakers.
This included an augmented multimedia system that brought together startups to design and develop new technology and services for vehicle platforms and artificial intelligence. If there’s one area that Farley wants to expand its growing the company’s technology and services related to it.
“Louis-Victor and his team will pinpoint areas where Ford can get and stay ahead of competitors in creating more rewarding customer experiences, with high-value moves in the automotive and mobility sectors,” the company said in a release. “That will include strategically disrupting how the company thinks and acts on behalf of those customers.”
How did he get there?
His two decades of experience include time with legacy companies as well as his own moves to start and run his own companies.
In addition to Renault, Louis-Victor was alliance global director, Connected Vehicles Cloud and Services for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance for nearly three years from 2016. He spent several years in mobility and automotive startups after beginning his career in information technology in France in 1998.
Louis-Victor has a master’s degree in physics from the University of Bordeaux in France and a bachelor’s degree in Automotive Design from the Franco Sbarro School of Automotive Design in Switzerland.
