Lisa Brankin became managing director of Ford of Britain and Ireland last October, taking the helm of the best-selling car maker as the effects of the second coronavirus wave were starting to be felt. Since then, she and her team have navigated lockdown, emerging to the challenges of stock limitations in the wake of the semiconductor shortage.
Here, Brankin – who joined Ford as a graduate trainee in 1990 and has worked as the firm’s sales, marketing, dealer operations director, as well as holding managerial roles in its dealer and consumer marketing and communications, events and sponsorship departments – outlines how she intends to keep Ford at the top of the sales charts and her excitement at the opportunities presented by the changing automotive landscape.
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Few people know Ford of Britain better than you. Does your previous experience make moving into this role easier?
“I’ve worked across a lot of departments at Ford, from being more in the field to working out of head office, so from that perspective, I feel well prepared for the role, even if I never expected it.
“There was no trepidation when I was asked to take it on, just excitement. I know the brand and I know what I have to do – and there’s no doubt in my mind about how exciting the opportunities are.”
What’s it like running a huge company in a crisis?
“It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress – not just for me, but the whole team and our partners. But I don’t think we’re any different to anyone else, in that we are focused on trying to do what’s right, for our colleagues’ safety first and foremost and then the business.
“There’s enough challenges out there to keep anyone busy, and we’ve all worked some long days, but we are all focused on what we can achieve. Everyone thought they knew the pace of change we were facing into – but it just keeps accelerating.”
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Ford will only upgrade or convert Dagenham to Electric Battery production if the Government pays for it. Ford has never opened a plant in Europe without Government money. Valencia Spain, Saarlouis Germany, The Transit plant in Turkey and now the upgrades to the Cologne plant Germany were all given vast government funding. I guess if the Labour government had of stepped in to save Dagenham, then Ford would still be making cars in their best selling market, the UK.
Correction for you slightly Mikey CThe Halewood plant is now back under 100% Ford ownership.
I do like the UK only centric view - FWIW, Mikey is correct on the CV development; maybe people should be observing the fact that VW are downscaling their Commercial Vehicle Prodcut Development teams.
jagdavey, that's not entirely true as Ford still have the Dagenham engine plant, a JV gearbox plant at Halewood, and the Dunton development centre which is the lead development site for vans (including the next VW Transporter in the future)
The big question I would have asked her is whether Ford will invest in battery manufacture in the UK, or just let Dagenham die with the end of diesel