Ford (F) hires former Apple (AAPL) exec to lead new business unit

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) announced Monday the appointment of former Apple executive, Peter Stern to head a recently established division dedicated to developing consumer software and the advancement of hands-free highway driving technology.

Stern, who most recently served as vice president of services at Apple, overseeing Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple News+, will be president of “Ford Integrated Services” effective immediately. The new Ford business will focus primarily on integrating hardware, software and services across Ford Blue, Model e and Ford Pro.

Ford is increasing its emphasis on connected vehicles, as the auto industry moves towards subscription-based revenue from complex cars and trucks. Ford has more than 550,000 paid software and services subscribers, with Ford Pro commercial customers accounting for more than 80% of them, the company said.

“This is transformational, because the cornerstone of our Ford+ plan is creating incredible customer services and experiences enabled by great hardware and software,” Said Farley. “There’s simply no one in the world better able than Peter Stern to build this strategically vital part of our business.”

Stern will directly report to CEO Jim Farley, who has brought in numerous executives from non-automotive backgrounds, especially the tech sector, to help execute the Ford+ restructuring plan.

Notably, Farley recruited former Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Apple executive Doug Field to spearhead Ford's technology initiatives.

Shares of F are down 0.74% in early trading on Monday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]

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