Kumar Galhotra has just be named the new president of Lincoln and he will be vice president of Ford. This take effect at the end of the summer on Sept. 1, 2014. In this new position for Galhotra he be responsible for accelerating Lincoln as they try to reinvent themselves as a Luxury brand and appeal to a younger audience. Essential Kumar Galhotra’s job is to try to breath some fresh life into Lincoln.
Galhotra will report to Ford President and CEO Mark Fields, and he will oversee all Lincoln operations globally. This includes product development; marketing, sales and service; and all team members that work for Lincoln.
Galhotra will build on the Lincoln’s recent product and sales momentum which includes its recent expansion into China. He will oversee the development of the next generation of Lincoln vehicles and work on increasing brand awareness for these new and refreshed models. We imagine he will continue campaigns similar to that of the Lincoln MKC. The brand has done stops in cities around the country to try to attract young and urban professionals to the luxury automaker.
Kumar Galhotra used to be vice president of Engineering which he has held for roughly a year. He started that position on Aug. 1, 2013. Galhotra was responsible for handling the engineering behind all cars, trucks, SUVs and crossover vehicles for Ford and Lincoln.
Before this position Galhotra was vice president of Product Development for the Asia Pacific and Africa regions in 2009. In that role, he led the team that developed Ford’s aggressive plan to bring more than 50 new vehicles and powertrains to its Asia Pacific and Africa region by mid-decade. He was appointed a corporate officer on June 1, 2012.
Kumar Galhotra began his career with Ford all the way back in 1988 and has served in various positions in product development and product strategy. Among the notable accomplishments with the company, he led the introduction of the Ford Ranger into South American markets in 1998; was the chief engineer for the Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner in the early 2000s; and was vehicle programs director for five vehicle lines in the mid-2000s. In addition, his team oversaw the development of the all-new global compact pickup truck, the Ford Ranger.
Between 2005 and 2008, he was assigned to Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan where he was responsible for program management and product planning worldwide.
Galhotra was born on Dec. 10, 1965. He grew up in India and has a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.
