Detroit automaker Ford announced on Thursday that it has hired Mike Fitzsimmons for the role of Labor Affairs VP.
The executive is joining Ford as Vice President of Global Labor on October 20 and will report to Chief People and Employee Experience Officer Jen Waldo.
“Fitzsimmons brings over two decades of extensive experience in labor relations, employment law and HR policy across several prominent global corporations,” the Detroit automaker stated.
Prior to Ford, the executive was the VP of Labor Relations & Global HR Policy at the American multinational Boeing Co.
Fitzsimmons replaces the veteran Kevin Legel, who is now retiring.
The counsel managed collective bargaining and administration for contracts covering over 60,000 unionized employees at Boeing, Ford said.
He joined the aerospace-focused company in 2012, first as a Senior Counsel and then as the Chief Counsel for Labor Affairs.
Previously, Fitzsimmons held the role of Senior Labor & Employment Counsel for three years at Microsoft. He also served other labor, legal and HR-related roles at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and at Dow Jones.
He is not the first Boeing executive to be recruited by Ford. The company previously hired Alan Mulally, a 37-year veteran of Boeing, who served as its President from 2000 to 2006.
Mulally served as Ford‘s President and CEO from 2006 to 2014, after which he was succeeded by Jim Hackett. Hackett retired in 2020, when Jim Farley became the company’s current CEO.
Kevin Legel, who served Ford for over 32 years, started out as an HR Associate in the Connersville Climate Control Plant, located in Indiana.
He worked in several positions in Michigan until 2007 and, for ten months in 2008, was the HR Director for Asia Pacific and Africa Product Development in Shanghai.
According to the company, “Legel has made numerous contributions to Ford’s HR organization and labor affairs organization,” and “notably” led the company’s labor affairs, medical and safety operations since December 2019 — a position he held until his retirement.
Earlier this month, Ford announced that its new World Headquarters will be located in Dearborn, Michigan — where the company has its Henry Ford II World Center, a product development campus.
“Our team is working hard to wrap construction as hundreds of employees are collaborating in the building already,” the legacy automaker stated.
The company added that “the majority of the facility will be complete this year,” but “work will continue through 2027 on a final section of the site.”
Ford is currently trading 1% lower at $11.52, considering Wednesday’s close at $11.63. The company’s stock grew 16.3% from January 1.
