Lincoln’s Galhotra pulls double duty in streamlined management shuffle

Lincoln's President Kumar Galhotra has done such a solid job with the luxury brand that Ford's new Chief Executive is keen to spread his talents wider. Galhotra took over leadership of Lincoln shortly after Mark Fields took over as Chief Executive in 2014. Within one month Fields had revived the post of President for Lincoln and put Galhotra in charge. At the time, Lincoln had not had its own President for seven years. Under Galhotra's leadership, Lincoln has been focussing on three main areas: clear brand definition, unique and compelling products and creating distinctive client experiences. He also promised to launch four products in four years and set an ambitious goal of tripling volumes by 2020. Feedback so far has been positive, as market share has grown and customer satisfaction levels risen. The 2016 American Customer Satisfaction Index put Lincoln at the very top, with 87 points out of a maximum of 100. Galhotra's progress with the brand has so impressed Jim Hackett that he is giving him an additional role. As part of a wider management shake-up, Galhotra was named Chief Marketing Officer as well. He officially began the new position on 1 November, reporting to Jim Farley, President, Global Markets. Now on top of Lincoln's transformation he will also lead Ford's marketing functions. This is no easy feat in today's rapidly evolving industry, with shifting segment preferences as well as the need to respond to new digital services, electromobility and autonomous driving trends. Some in the investment community have raised concerns that this new responsibility could detract from the focus on Lincoln. Morningstar Analyst David Whiston observed that he was "always under the impression that Ford wanted someone thinking about Lincoln 100% of the time and stressing the Lincoln Motor Company brand coming back." Kumar can't possibly think of Lincoln 100% of the time while he juggles two posts. However, Hackett was adamant there has been no let-up in the focus on Lincoln. The Chief Executive assured the analyst community that they should not "assume that we've broken stride with that commitment... In this case, our choice is to have Kumar retain ownership of that position as we then address how we want to sequence oversight." He went on to highlight the various ways in which "Kumar has done an extraordinary job in Lincoln's revival." Hackett specifically highlighted market share gains and customer satisfaction ratings. "Lincoln is really achieving much of the evolution that we were looking for. The luxury market shrunk in recent periods, and Lincoln gained share in that. Those are usually the most difficult times. I want to say that I'm really happy with that." Michelle Krebs, Executive Analyst for Autotrader, sees Galhotra's additional appointment as confirmation of his achievements. "It's Hackett's way of saying 'attaboy'. Galhotra has done a good job of establishing Lincoln, though that is not to say the brand doesn't have a long way to go," she suggested Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds Executive Director of Industry Analysis, observed that the appointment fits in with Hackett's aims around aligning resources for a more streamlined and efficient Ford. "At this point, it doesn't appear that these added responsibilities necessarily reflect a departure in focus from Lincoln," she told Automotive World. "Hackett has openly applauded Galhotra's success in reviving the luxury brand, so it's likely that he's looking to apply the executive's skills toward other product categories in the hopes that he'll be able to generate similar results."

Lincoln’s Galhotra pulls double duty in streamlined management shuffle

Under Galhotra's leaderhip Lincoln managed to grow market share in a segment that was shrinking. Hackett now wants to replicate that success in other areas of the company, writes Megan Lampinen

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