Ford has hired corporate M&A veteran Doug Power, 52, in the newly created position of Vice President, Corporate Development. He and his team are charged with developing, sustaining and carrying out a master plan for strategic acquisitions and investments on behalf of Ford’s Industrial, Technology and Software, and New Businesses platforms, and customer-focused business units.

A focal point for Power is to further enhance Ford’s position in the electrification revolution in personal and commercial transportation. Ford has committed to investing more than $30 billion in electric vehicles through 2025, an amount that will continue to increase over time.

Ford’s expertise in areas like electrification and connected vehicles is substantial, but will need to grow exponentially to create and maintain clear competitive advantage. Doug and his team are bringing skill and disciplined urgency to how we approach M&A and will see things through to their strategic outcome.

—David McClelland, Ford’s vice president, Strategy and Partnerships

Ford said that such know-how will directly influence its effectiveness in “beneficially disrupting itself” and creating must-have products and services—behaviors President and CEO Jim Farley has said are essential to successfully executing the Ford+ plan.

Power, who joined Ford following 10 years as the head of M&A at General Mills, has already begun working with existing allies and cultivating new ones among potential partners, entrepreneurs, investors, investment banks and others.

Power brings to Ford nearly 25 years of experience in corporate strategy and M&A in a variety of industries, in both corporate development and investment banking. At General Mills, the global consumer packaged-foods company based in Minneapolis, he led the largest public-company acquisition in its history, the $8-billion purchase of Blue Buffalo Pet Products in April 2018.