Ford's Nair Takes the Wheel

Raj Nair attempted to quit his car racing avocation as the needs of his day job started to be too great. But the attraction of the track kept calling to him. Nair, 47, still follows motor racing as an enthusiast, and he hasn't lost his passion for motorbikes. But he's unlikely to wear his racing suit and helmet again anytime soon.

"I cannot remember how many times I retired and went back," said Nair, who raced open-wheel Formula Ford vehicles on circuits like Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio and Waterford Hills until he finally stopped for good in 2004.

During his 25-year career with Ford, Nair has worked on vehicles of every size and category -- from the Figo subcompact in India to the F-series Super Duty pickups in North America.

"Our global platforms are well-established, and now we'll capitalize on rolling out the top hats," Nair told Automotive News. "Ford will be continuing to deliver the vehicles with the DNA we've set up. We'll work on accelerating our product cadence and continuing to have the fastest model refreshes in the industry."

In his current job as vice president of engineering for global product development, he has been responsible for all engineering of light vehicles for the Ford and Lincoln brands. Before that, he headed product development, manufacturing, purchasing, quality and information technology in Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa region. From 2006 to 2008, he was executive director of commodity business planning, working on reducing Ford's material costs.

Asked what vehicle programs he is most proud of, Nair had trouble narrowing the list. "The two I'm most proud of are the F-series and Super Duty pickups. I was the vehicle line director who put those programs together and got the funding from senior management," he recalled.

Nair, a native of St. Louis whose India-born parents were both college professors, is a genial man well liked by his colleagues. He began his Ford career in 1987 at the factory level as a body and assembly launch engineer. As part of his co-op studies toward a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., he had spent five years at General Motors' St. Louis Assembly plant.