Darren Palmer became vice president, Electric Vehicle Programs, in March 2022. He reports to Lisa Drake, vice president, EV Programs and Energy Supply Chain.

Previously, Palmer was general manager, Ford Electric Vehicles, responsible for leading the EV business in North America, including implementing a $50 billion transformation of the EV portfolio.

Prior to this, Palmer was a founding member of Team Edison, an internal start-up created to determine where to play and how to win in electric vehicles. The first vehicle resulting from this new approach was the Mustang Mach E, the all-new, award winning, ground up SUV, sold in North America, Europe and China.

Palmer's particular skill is in developing customer focused product propositions that customers fall in love with, then inspiring large and diverse teams spread across multiple continents to deliver to markets world-wide. Examples include global segment leading vehicles such as Ford Explorer, Puma, Mustang, Fiesta, Focus, and Transit.

Since joining Ford, Palmer has amassed significant experience in global vehicle development, having held positions in Product Development, Product Planning, Manufacturing and Quality, in the UK, Germany, United States and through regular global travel to South America, China, India and Australia.

Palmer holds an MBA from Henley Management College, England, an Electrical, Electronics and Technology Degree from Birmingham University in England and is a Member of the Institute of Engineering Technology (IET).