Ford of Canada appoints veteran exec Dianne Craig as new president and CEO

Ford of Canada has appointed longtime executive Dianne Craig as its new president and CEO. Craig will replace David Mondragon, effective November 1.

She has been the general manager for the southeast market in the U.S. since 2009, where she was responsible for all marketing, sales and service operations for 520 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

Craig joined the company in 1986 in an entry-level position and has since held a variety of sales and marketing positions. She has also led the company’s Ford and Lincoln Mercury U.S. dealer relations efforts.

Craig was born in Buffalo, N.Y. She graduated from the State University of New York and holds a master’s of Business Administration from Ohio State University.

Mondragon, who took the head position in 2008, will become general marketing manager for Ford and Lincoln for the automaker in the U.S.

Mondragon led the company to become the best-selling automaker in Canada for the first time last year.

“This positive marketplace momentum will continue to build as Dianne shares her extensive dealer relations skills, sales background and marketing expertise with the Ford of Canada team,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas.

Ford is the only of the big three Detroit automakers that avoided government bailouts from the Ontario, Canadian and U.S. governments during the recession, but it too undertook a major restructuring of its operations.

In the U.S., General Motors and Chrysler both filed for bankruptcy and shed billions in debt and costs with the help of billions from the U.S., Ontario and Canadian governments.

Ford Canada has assembly plants in Oakville and St. Thomas, Ont., two engine plants in Windsor, Ont., and parts distribution centres in Brampton, Ont., and Edmonton, Alta.