Indian American Executive to Replace Ousted Ford North America President

Indian American Kumar Galhotra will replace Ford’s North America president Raj Nair, who left abruptly following an internal investigation over his inappropriate behavior, the automaker announced.

Galhotra will take over as the Ford president of North America from March 1. He will be reporting to Jim Farley, Ford EVP and president of Global Markets. Galhotra is the head of the Lincoln division since 2014 and was the chief marketing officer since 2017. He will no longer be the head of Lincoln and Ford CMO.

Galhotra, 52, went to the United States to study at the University of Michigan where he gained a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering. He has worked in Ford for nearly as long as Nair had — 30 years.

The automaker also announced that with Galhotra stepping up, Joy Falotico will take over Galhotra’s roles as Lincoln chief and Ford CMO.

Ford’s former North America president Raj Nair who was also the executive vice president stepped down on Feb. 21, effective immediately, following a recent internal investigation that was conducted after reports of his inappropriate behavior surfaced.

“We made this decision after a thorough review and careful consideration,” Ford president and CEO Jim Hackett hd said then. “Ford is deeply committed to providing and nurturing a safe and respectful culture and we expect our leaders to fully uphold these values,” he added.

“I sincerely regret that there have been instances where I have not exhibited leadership behaviors consistent with the principles that the Company and I have always espoused. I continue to have the utmost faith in the people of Ford Motor Company and wish them continued success in the future,” Nair, who is of Indian origin, had said.

Nair is not the only senior level employee to have departed from Ford recently. Ali Vahabzadeh, the CEO and co-founder of Chariot, which was acquired by Ford in 2016, was also shown the door earlier this year. According to TechCrunch, Vahabzadeh was fired in February after employees co-signed a letter to Ford’s CEO James Hackett about the toxic work culture and poor employee retention.