Ford of Europe Names New COO

Barb Samardzich, currently vice president of product development for Ford of Europe, will take over as the unit's chief operating officer on Nov. 1.

She will continue to report to Stephen Odell, president of Ford's European operations.

Samardzich's previous assignments at Ford included head of global product programs, head of powertrain operations and chief engineer for automatic transmission operations.

Succeeding her will be Joe Bakaj, currently Ford's global vice president of powertrain engineering. He will report to Odell. Bakaj is a former head of product development at Ford of Europe. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from City University in London.