Back in 1989, Ford’s (F) message to the driving public was “Quality is Job 1.”
At the time, Ford was looking to challenge the rise of Japanese imports, according to Autoweek, and began a major push to improve and embrace quality in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
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Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, the Berlin Wall was coming down, gasoline was going for a buck a gallon, and the average cost of a car was $12,000.
And that’s the year Ted Cannis started working at Ford. Now, after 35 years, Cannis, CEO of Ford Pro, the automaker’s commercial vehicle services and distribution division, is planning to retire at the end of the month.
Cannis has led Ford Pro since its formation in 2021 and, since last year, has also headed up the Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD), which handles global parts, services, accessories, and vehicle customization for Ford dealers and customers worldwide.
“Ted’s energy and passion for customers has been instrumental in building Ford Pro into a business that’s tracking towards $70 billion in revenue this year – a Fortune 100-size company in its own right,” Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO, said in a statement.
Ford exec praised Pro division
“Ford Pro is now poised to become a true, technology-driven growth business – evidenced by the 600,000 paid subscriptions in the second quarter – and a greater competitive advantage for Ford and our customers,” Farley added.
“End of an era. no more passion for the space than can be seen in @tedcannis congrats on a FANTASTIC career and always being an inspiration!” Brian Caiazza said X, formerly Twitter.
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Cannis began his career at Ford in finance and went on to serve in leadership positions in Venezuela, Argentina, Turkey and Russia, the Detroit Free Press reported.
From 2017 to 2020, he was the global director of electric vehicles, leading the team that developed the Mustang Mach-E. He was also involved in the development of the F-150 Lightning and E-Transit.
“It’s been the most thrilling and rewarding chapter of my career to lead Ford Pro and FCSD,” Cannis said in a statement
“Ford Pro is a profitably growing business with unmatched scale, talent, and the best dealers and upfitters – all to serve the people and businesses who keep our economy and communities humming,” he said. “I can’t wait to watch Ford Pro and FCSD continue to innovate and grow.”
Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue, the company’s internal combustion engine segment, will take the wheel at Ford Pro until the company announces a new leader.
Daniel Justo was named vice president of FCSD and a company officer, effective Oct. 1. Justo is currently chief financial officer of Ford Blue and was previously president of Ford South America. In his new role, he will report to Frick.
Ford Pro is considered to be the company’s single most powerful weapon, raking in $2.6 billion in the second quarter. The company reported $47.8 billion in revenue, up 6.2% from a year ago.
Ford’s stock is down 12.8% year-to-date, and shares are off 13% from a year ago.
Analyst calls Ford exec’s departure ‘big loss’
Last month, Ford said it was delaying a new plant to produce a next-generation, all-electric pickup truck, canceling plans for a three-row electric SUV and prioritizing hybrids instead.
During the carmaker’s earnings call, Farley told analysts, “our Ford Pro business is amazing.”
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He said the division’s “robust and fresh lineup” of vehicles “are seeing resilient revenue streams based on a much longer tail spending on the infrastructure by government and private enterprise.”
“We dominate small business and medium business with tradesmen, but we have very large customers,” he said. “We have state, local, and national governments. And we have rental, which by the way, is very profitable for Pro.”
“In fact, in the U.S., one out of four of these fleets, mom-and-pop, tradesmen all the way to large companies, one out of four of those fleets in the U.S. are Ford only,” he said.
Farley said, “The big opportunity for Pro is beyond vehicles, and that’s where we’re focusing.”
“With Pro Power intelligence, we have a highly differentiated telematics offering,” he said, referring to the company’s fleet software. “We offer real-time driver coaching, which provides significant improvements for driver safety and now is available in about half of our modem-enabled Pro vehicles.”
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas called Cannis’s exit a “big loss” for the company, according to The Fly, and said the retiring executive was “one of the most competent and well-respected leaders at Ford.”
Noting that Ford didn’t announce his replacement, Jonas said he expects a replacement from outside the company.
Jonas, who has an overweight rating and a $16 price target on Ford shares, added that “investors will look at unexpected departures of executives running highly successful business units and ask if there are any underlying fundamental implications at play.”
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