Latest head of Blue Oval’s national operation announced.

TRADITION of Ford New Zealand being headed by Blue Oval lifers, most on the corporate ladder climb, has been broken, with the operation announcing today that its new head has been attracted from a past career in telecommunications and soft drinks.

Annaliese Atina will assume the role of managing director of Ford New Zealand from Simon Rutherford, who has in turn been appointed to a new regional role within the Ford International Markets Group.

The transition occurs on May 27.

“We’re excited to have Annaliese joining the Ford family and look forward to her insights and ideas gained from her wealth of experience,” said Melbourne-based Andrew Birkic, President and chief executive of Ford Australia and New Zealand.

“Ford will certainly benefit from her perspective and the new lens she can put on serving our customers.”

Ford appears to be Atina’s first experience of the automotive industry. She joins the Auckland-based operation following several senior executive roles with Coca-Cola Amatil and One New Zealand (formerly Vodafone NZ).

A release from Ford NZ today described Atina as being a customer-focused, forward-thinking leader “who has a passion for building innovative, agile teams, which she believes is key to delivering strong commercial outcomes.”

She has also offered comment, saying “Ford has a rich history in New Zealand and is both locally and globally a leading brand with a promising future.

“It’s a great time to be joining and I look forward to working closely with our team and dealers to help better serve our customers.”

Atina is a member of Global Women and the Institute of Directors NZ, is a Board Member of TUANZ (Technology Users Association of NZ) and is Head Coach of the Ambition Collective, founded to uplift women in business and newly appointed principals.

She is presently enrolled at The University of Waikato completing her master's in business administration.

Ford NZ’s information share said Atina was a proud wife and mother of three boys.

Announcement that Rutherford’s tenure at Ford NZ came in March. His background to taking up the role in 2016 was typical, in that he is a Briton who joined the brand in his homeland then rose through the management structure via a number of international postings, including at Ford’s global home town, Detroit.

As much as Atina’s recruitment appears to be a new development for Ford here, a brand spokesman reminded the parent in the United States had at times had chief executives recruited from outside the automotive world.

Two with high profiles were Alan Mullaly, an aerospace engineer who came to the car brand from Boeing, and Jim Hackett, who previous to being Ford’s president and CEO, from 2017 until 2020, had three decades running an office furniture brand.