Lewis Booth

Lewis Booth (November 7, 1948) is executive vice president, for Ford Motor Company responsible for Ford of Europe, Volvo Car Corporation and Ford Export Operations & Global Growth Initiatives. Mr. Booth is chairman of both Ford of Europe and Volvo Car Corporation. Mr. Booth also was formerly responsible for the Premier Automotive Group from October 2005.

Prior to his most recent appointment, Mr. Booth was chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe, from April 2004 to Sept 2005, and held the position of president and COO, Ford of Europe, from September 2003 to April 2004. Between 2002 and 2003, Mr. Booth was president and then chairman of Mazda Motor Corporation based in Hiroshima, Japan, where he oversaw the implementation of the company's highly successful Millennium Plan and the return of the rotary engine in the RX-8.

Mr. Booth was President, Asia Pacific and Africa Operations for Ford Motor Company, a position he held from January 1, 2000. In this role, Lewis Booth had operational responsibility for South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India and for developing Ford’s strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.

From Aug 1997 to Jan 2000, Mr. Booth served as Group Managing Director of the South Africa Motor Corporation (SAMCOR). At that time, Ford had 45% equity in SAMCOR, which assembled Ford and Mazda vehicles in South Africa. Subsequently, the SAMCOR joint venture was dissolved and Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa was established.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, he held a series of management positions in Ford of Europe in Britain and in Germany in Finance Staff, Truck Operations, Product Development, Manufacturing, and Sales.

In 1992, he moved to the United States where he worked for Finance Staff in Dearborn. From 1993 to 1996, Booth held a variety of positions in Car Product Development, Body & Assembly, Vehicle Operations and the Manufacturing Business Office for Ford Automotive Operations before accepting the position of Group Managing Director at SAMCOR in South Africa.

Born in Liverpool, England, the son of a Ford, Austin and Morris dealer, Booth has the car business in his blood and makes no apologies for his passion for cars and the auto business.

After completing his bachelor of engineering degree with honors in mechanical engineering at Liverpool University, he started his career at British Leyland before joining Ford in 1978 as a financial analyst in Product Development for Ford of Europe.

A qualified chartered management accountant, he lives with his wife in London. They have two children.