Lewis Booth
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Lewis William Killcross Booth CBE (born 7 November 1948) is a British accountant and business executive. He is currently on the Board of Directors for Mondelez International, Inc. He was formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ford Motor Company, a position he held from November 2008 until April 2012. He was responsible for Ford's financial operations, including the Controller’s Office, Treasury and Investor Relations.[1] He is a qualified chartered management accountant, and is married with two children.[1]
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Early life and education[edit]
Born in Liverpool, United Kingdom, the son of a Ford, Austin and Morris dealer, Booth has always had a passion for cars and the automotive industry.
After completing his bachelor of engineering degree with honors in mechanical engineering at University of Liverpool, he started his career at British Leyland before joining Ford in 1978 as a financial analyst in Product Development for Ford of Europe.[1]
Career[edit]
Ford of Europe[edit]
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Booth held a series of management positions in Ford of Europe in Britain and in Germany in Finance Staff, Truck Operations, Product Development, Manufacturing, and Sales.[1]
Ford North America[edit]
In 1992, he moved to the United States where he worked for Finance Staff in Dearborn. From 1993 to 1996, Booth held a variety of positions in Car Product Development, Body & Assembly, Vehicle Operations and the Manufacturing Business Office for Ford Automotive Operations before accepting the position of Group Managing Director at SAMCOR in South Africa.[1]
International Assignments[edit]
From August 1997 to January 2000, Mr. Booth served as Group Managing Director of the South Africa Motor Corporation (SAMCOR). At that time, Ford had 45% equity in SAMCOR, which assembled Ford and Mazda vehicles in South Africa. Subsequently, the SAMCOR joint venture was dissolved and Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa was established.
Booth was promoted President, Asia Pacific and Africa Operations for Ford Motor Company, a position he held from 1 January 2000. In this role, he had operational responsibility for South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India and for developing Ford’s strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.[1]
Mazda[edit]
Between 2002 and 2003, Booth was appointed president and then chairman of Mazda Motor Corporation based in Hiroshima, Japan, where he oversaw the implementation of the company's highly successful Millennium Plan and the return of the rotary engine in the RX-8.[1] He is widely credited for leading the renaissance of Mazda.
Ford of Europe & Premier Automotive Group[edit]
Following his stint at Mazda, Booth returned to Ford of Europe where he held the position of president and COO from September 2003 to April 2004. He was then promoted to chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe, based in the Ford's Ingeni building, London, from April 2004 to Sept 2005. In his final role before moving to Dearborn, Booth was Executive Vice President for Ford Motor Company responsible for Ford of Europe, Volvo Car Corporation and Ford Export Operations & Global Growth Initiatives. Booth was chairman of both Ford of Europe and Volvo Car Corporation. He was also formerly responsible for the Premier Automotive Group from October 2005.[1]
Booth was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to the UK automotive and manufacturing industries.[2]
