Ford's head of integrated services leaves automaker to join Peloton

By Nora Eckert

(Reuters) - The head of Ford Motor's integrated services, who was tasked with leading one of the automaker's most important teams, is departing after about one year, the company said on Thursday.

Peter Stern, who joined Ford in August 2023 from Apple, was trusted with building the automaker's recurring revenues attached to vehicle services across its electric and gasoline-engine models.

"There's simply no one in the world better able than Peter Stern to build this strategically vital part of our business," Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said in a release when Stern was hired.

Stern has been named CEO of fitness equipment maker Peloton, which said the appointment was effective from Jan. 1, 2025.

Michael Amend, Ford's chief enterprise technology officer, will lead its digital services unit on an interim basis, Ford said.

Long-established auto companies like Ford and General Motors have attracted software and technology talent from Silicon Valley to support their goal of convincing customers to pay for services outside of the traditional wholesale-to-dealer model.

"Our software is also a competitive advantage. Our paid subscriptions delivered a growth of 50% in revenue, 30% just this quarter," Farley told analysts during an earnings call this week.

The automaker posted results that disappointed Wall Street, sending the stock tumbling about 8%.

(Reporting by Nora Eckert in Detroit; Additional reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Mike Harrison)