DEARBORN — Ford Motor Co. has named data science and analytics expert Paul Ballew to the position of global chief data and analytics officer.
Ballew was most recently chief data, insight and analytics officer at Dun & Bradstreet.
Ballew has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Detroit Mercy. He started his career as a research officer and economist at the Federal Reserve. Later, he was a partner at J.D. Power and Associates, executive director for global market and industry analysis at General Motors, and senior vice persident for customer insight and analytics at Nationwide.
At Ford, Ballew will be part of a team of experts seeking to better understand consumer behavior and help speed development of innovations in mobility, connectivity and autonomous driving.
“We are committed to making people’s lives better through innovations on mobility, connectivity, autonomous vehicles, performance and the customer experience,” said Ford president and CEO Mark Fields. “Taking big data and analytics to the next level inside Ford connects all of this work and is a key part of our drive for innovation in every part of our business.”
In the new role, Ballew will lead the company’s data and analytic efforts globally, establishing an enterprise-wide vision for analytics and integrating all of Ford’s research, analytics, processes, standards, tools and partner engagement. He will report to Bob Shanks, executive vice president and CFO. The appointment is effective Jan. 5.
Ford already has an award-winning analytics team. Last year, Ford was awarded the prestigious INFORMS Prize from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences for using data science and predictive analytics to improve overall operations and performance.
Ford uses analytics widely, including in its research, product development, manufacturing, supply chain, marketing and sales, finance, purchasing, information technology and human resources functions.