Ford Creates New Chief Data, Analytics Officer Position

By Mike Ramsey 

Ford Motor Co., awash in new data from cars, smartphones and even its own machinery, has created a new chief data and analytics officer position and appointed former Dun and Bradstreet and General Motors Co. expert Paul Ballew to the post.

Ford already has pushed deep into the use of so-called "big data" to help dealers figure out what combinations and numbers of vehicles to order, among other things.

Mr. Ballew, who starts on Jan. 5, will try to bring together the massive influx of information flowing into the company.

"There will be literally a large wave of even more data coming into the company," said Mark Fields, in an interview Monday. "It's really important to have a centralized person bringing that together."

Before joining Ford, Mr. Ballew was the global chief of data and analytics at Dun and Bradstreet. Before that, he worked at Nationwide Insurance, General Motors Co. and J.D. Power and Associates.

Write to Mike Ramsey at [e-mail]

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