Ford has hired Marissa West, a former President of General Motors‘ North American business, as Vice President of Vehicle Programs as it prepares to renew most of its lineup by 2029.
West will join on November 16 and “will lead vehicle program and program operations teams, supporting vehicle development and integration, program execution and global product programs across Ford’s portfolio,” the company said on Tuesday.
Ford expects to refresh 70% of its global vehicle portfolio by volume by 2029. The appointment “strengthens the company’s leadership overseeing the development and delivery of its next generation of vehicles,” it said.
‘Back to My Product Roots’
“I’m honored to join Ford, a company with a proud legacy and an exciting future,” West said in the statement. “I’m eager to get close to the product, collaborate with talented teams around the world and help deliver vehicles and experiences that matter to customers.”
She described the move on LinkedIn as a return. “Back to my product roots, my true passion,” she wrote on Tuesday.
West joins from OPmobility, the French supplier formerly known as Plastic Omnium, where she was Executive Vice President and Chairperson for North America.
OPmobility announced her arrival on July 1, 2025, as a member of its Executive Committee. In March, it also gave her its modules business in the Americas, reporting to CEO Félicie Burelle.
OPmobility’s governance page, last updated on November 2, no longer lists West. It names Youssef Souiba, President of its C-Power business group, as Chairperson North America. The company has not published an announcement on the change.
Two Decades at GM
West has “more than 20 years of automotive and vehicle engineering experience, with much of her career focused on vehicle programs, integration and launches,” Ford said.
Nearly all of it was at GM. She began in the industry as a college intern in 2001 and joined GM full time in 2003, according to a biography GM Canada published in 2022.
She studied mechanical engineering at Michigan State University and later earned a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.
Her first seven years were in noise and vibration engineering at GM’s Milford Proving Ground in Michigan, according to a profile in DBusiness. She worked on the second-generation Cadillac CTS from development to launch.
“That still sticks out as a career highlight: working on a vehicle from cradle to launch,” she told the magazine.
She became Director of GM’s Global Noise and Vibration Center in 2016 and added its Vehicle Dynamics Center in 2018, the biography says.
Trucks came later. As Chief Engineer for GM’s next-generation full-size trucks, West was responsible for launching the 2020 GMC Sierra HD and Chevrolet Silverado HD, according to the biography.
She also led the design and engineering of future full-size truck and SUV programs representing about $1.6 billion of investment, it says, and was then Executive Chief Engineer for GM’s global midsize truck and medium-duty truck programs.
She moved to the commercial side in 2022 as President and Managing Director of GM Canada, an appointment GM announced on March 28 of that year. She succeeded Scott Bell, who left to run the Chevrolet brand globally.
Seven Months Running NA
GM named West Senior VP and President of GM North America in December 2023, effective January 2, 2024. The job put her in charge of sales, service and marketing in the company’s largest and most profitable region.
She was the first woman to hold it, and the fourth generation of her family to work at GM, according to Crain’s.
She left on August 9, 2024, a little over seven months later.
“Marissa West, president of North America, has decided to leave GM after more than 20 years with the company,” spokesperson Kevin Kelly said at the time. He said GM was “reducing the complexity of our organization.”
“We are grateful for all of her contributions and wish her the best in her next chapter,” Kelly said.
Rory Harvey, who had run the region before her and had been promoted to lead GM’s global markets, took back its day-to-day management.
Second GM Hire in 13 Months
West is the second senior GM product executive to join Ford’s programs organization in just over a year.
Basile arrived from GM in October 2025, after nearly three decades spent mostly at Detroit rival Ford, where he was VP of Global Product Programs. He replaced Jim Baumbick, who became President of Ford Europe.
In the same reshuffle, Darren Palmer, Ford’s VP of EV Programs and a founding member of the team behind the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, retired.
Ford went further in April, when it combined its EV, digital and design team with its global industrial system in a single organization under Galhotra called Product Creation and Industrialization.
Doug Field, who had led EVs, digital and design for nearly five years, left the company. He is now President of Mind Robotics, the robotics company founded by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe.
What Has to Launch
The 2029 target dates from that April reorganization. Ford said then that it would refresh 80% of its North American portfolio and 70% of its global portfolio by volume by 2029.
The renewal includes the next-generation F-150 and F-Series Super Duty, the trucks that compete with the pickups West engineered at GM.
It also includes the first vehicle on Ford’s Universal EV platform, a midsize electric pickup called the Fathom. Ford has priced it at $28,350 and plans to launch it next year, with pre-orders in early 2027 and deliveries in the fall.
CEO Jim Farley told analysts in October that Ford will also launch an affordable midsize pickup for international markets next year, aimed at Chinese brands gaining share in Latin America and Southeast Asia.
By 2030, Ford expects 90% of its vehicles by volume to have updated electrical architectures and nearly 90% of its global nameplates to offer electrified powertrains, it said in April.
EV Business Under Pressure
Ford’s Model e electric vehicle unit lost $1.06 billion in the third quarter, compared with $1.41 billion a year earlier. The company kept its forecast for a Model e loss of about $4.0 billion in 2026.
Its U.S. sales of fully electric vehicles fell 71.2% in October to 1,355 units, after it ended production of the F-150 Lightning.
