SHANGHAI, Sept. 29, 2022 – Sam Wu, a top operating leader in Asia for several major global companies across a broad range of industries, is joining Ford China on Oct. 1 in the new role of managing director and chief operating officer.

Wu will manage engineering, manufacturing, quality and purchasing and be responsible for Ford’s China commercial vehicle division. He will be based in Shanghai and report to Ford China President Anning Chen.

“China is the world’s largest and a strategically important auto market, and our ambitions for the country have never been higher,” said Chen. “Manufacturing effectiveness and efficiency, including the quality that customers expect and deserve, are critical to success of the Ford+ plan in China, and Sam is bringing proven capability and resolve in those areas to our team.”

Most recently, Wu was president, Asia Pacific, and a member of the global executive committee for appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. Earlier, he was president and CEO of Osram’s Asia-Pacific business and, before that, vice president and regional general manager for Honeywell Process Solutions in Greater China. Wu’s career also includes a tenure with General Electric.

Wu holds a bachelor’s degree in Thermal Energy Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Information Management, respectively, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University.