FORD of Britain has a new chairman and managing director. Dutchman Roeland de Waard takes over this week from former MD Paul Thomas, who is now vice-president of marketing for Ford of Europe.

De Waard, who was previously in charge of Ford of Europe’s customer service division, will also take up the chairman’s position from Roger Putnam, who retired last year. De Waard has amassed valuable experience in a wide variety of roles within Ford. He was managing director of Ford Netherlands and held strategic roles in global marketing and product development in the US.

Thomas, who is now responsible for all of Ford’s pan-European consumer advertising and product marketing, is based at the manufacturer’s technical development centre in Dunton, Essex.