Ford Motor Company announced that Liz Door will be the company’s chief supply chain officer, taking on responsibilities that since September have been held on an interim basis by CFO John Lawler, to whom she’ll report.
Liz Door, for the past six years the leader of global strategic sourcing for home-appliance maker Whirlpool Corp., is coming to Ford, at a time when improving quality and reducing costs, including through the supply chain, are high priorities and vital to realizing the full potential of the Ford+ plan.
Before becoming Whirlpool’s executive vice president of global strategic sourcing and a member of the appliance maker’s executive committee in 2017, she headed North America procurement for the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company for more than six years.
Those roles placed her in the middle of Whirlpool reimagining and developing smart, networked kitchen and laundry products embedded with sensors, software and other new technologies – in the same way Ford is creating breakthrough digital platforms and software for adoption across connected electric, hybrid and gas vehicles.
“Liz brings deep, relevant domain experience – including leveraging the Internet of Things to create great value for customers – from both outside and inside the global auto industry,” Lawler said. “That’s an ideal combination for leading a team that’s determined to restore supply chain management as a competitive advantage for Ford.”
Prior to Whirlpool, Door spent more than 15 years advancing through a series of strategic purchasing and supply chain roles at General Motors, ultimately becoming an executive in the global purchasing and supply chain organization.
“Ford and our suppliers will win together by delivering fresh, high-quality products for our customers,” Door said. “We’re going to expand the use of advanced quality planning throughout the supply portfolio.”
Door began her career with Prince Corp. (now part of Johnson Controls), as a resident quality engineer at a Chrysler assembly plant in St. Louis. A Michigan native, she holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Michigan State University.