Mascarenas to Retire as Ford’s Top Tech Officer

Ford Motor Co. Chief Technical Officer Paula Mascarena will retire on Oct. 1 after a 32-year career with the company.

His additional job as vice president of research and advanced engineering will be assumed by Ken Washington on Aug. 18.

Mascarenas previously headed Ford's global product engineering after assignments in product planning, body engineering and powertrain in Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of London.

Mascarenas set up Ford's first lab in Silicon Valley. He also helped create the company's "Blueprint for Mobility," which aims to position Ford for a world in 2026 in which a "radically different" personal transportation system consists of a network of cars, pedestrians, public transportation and other forms of mobility.

He has been an SAE Fellow since 2009 and chaired the organization's World Congress and Convergence conference in 2010.