Ford Motor Co. on April 19 announced a reorganization of its luxury lineup, moving the Lincoln and Mercury brands into the company's North American Consumer Business Group.

Volvo, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover will continue to operate under the company's Premier Automotive Group.

Mark Fields, currently the Ford-appointed representative director, president and chief executive officer, Mazda Motor Corp., and a Ford Motor Co. vice president, has been elected group vice president, Premier Automotive Group effective July 1.

He will succeed Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle, who is leaving Ford. Reitzle joins the board of Linde AG on May 10 and becomes CEO on Jan. 1, 2003.

Until Fields takes over, the presidents of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo will report directly to president and chief operating officer Nick Scheele.

Jim O'Connor, formerly president of Ford Division, has been elected group vice president for North American Marketing Sales and Service, overseeing Ford and Lincoln Mercury and reporting to Jim Padilla, group vice president, North America.

Steve Lyons, previously Ford Division general sales manager, has been elected a Ford vice president and president of Ford Division. Brian Kelley will continue as president of Lincoln Mercury. Lyons and Kelley will report to O'Connor.

Kathleen Ligocki has been appointed vice president for North American Marketing, reporting to Jim O'Connor.

Ligocki will have responsibility for Global Marketing, Ford of Canada, Ford of Mexico, Worldwide Direct Market Operations (WDMO) and Consumer Connect.

The changes will take effect May 1.

"The new marketing, sales and service organization will help strengthen our position in the North American market and will allow the individual brands to focus more specifically on their market segments," said Scheele.

Lewis Booth, Mazda senior advisor, was elected a Ford Motor Co. vice president. Industry experts expect him to replace Fields in the top job at Mazda though that appointment was not announced April 19.

"We are excited about Mark Fields' and Jim O'Connor's new roles," said Bill Ford. "Since Mark has been at Mazda, the business has turned around dramatically.”

“He has led a significant revival and repositioning of the brand and the development of a whole new generation of cars, including the Mazda6 and RX-8,” Ford said. “Importantly, they are on track to set a record this year by improving their net profit year-over-year by $1.2 billion.”

"Jim brings a wealth of experience to his new job," added Ford. "His knowledge of the North American market and his relationship with the Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers is unmatched and will prove invaluable as we move forward with our revitalisation plan."

Fields was named representative director, president and chief executive officer at Mazda and a Ford vice president in December 1999. He joined Mazda in August 1998 as senior advisor.

He joined Ford Motor Co. in 1989 after working in marketing and sales at IBM and has held a variety of marketing, sales and product development positions. Previously, he was managing director, Ford Argentina S.A.

O'Connor was named a Ford Motor Co. vice president and president of Ford Division in May 1998 after being named a vice president of Ford Motor Co. and president of Lincoln Mercury Division in April 1996.

His career with Ford Motor Co. has included senior management positions in both the United States and Canada, including serving as president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Co. of Canada, Limited.

O'Connor joined Ford in 1964 and has served in a series of sales and marketing positions with Ford, Lincoln Mercury and Ford parts and service divisions.

These changes affect several additional Ford reporting relationships.

Richard Parry-Jones continues to lead global product development and is the chief technical officer, reporting to Scheele. He also has responsibility for PAG product development, working for Mark Fields. Parry-Jones also assumes responsibility for the Premier Performance Division that includes Ford's Formula One racing programme.

Now reporting to Kathleen Ligocki will be: Jan Valentic, vice president for Global Marketing; Alain Batty, president and chief executive officer, Ford of Canada; Marcos De Oliveira, president and chief executive officer, Ford of Mexico; and Karen Francis, vice president of Consumer Connect and WDMO.