Ford Hires Ex-GM North America Boss Marissa West to Run Its Vehicle Programs
The former GM truck chief engineer starts November 16 and will steer Ford's vehicle programs as the Fathom, a Mustang Cobra, and next-gen F-Series trucks approach.
Ford has hired Marissa West, who briefly ran General Motors' North American business, as its vice president of vehicle programs. She starts November 16 and arrives as Ford heads into one of the heaviest launch schedules in its recent history, beginning with the $29,945 Ford Fathom electric truck next year.
According to Ford's November 10 announcement, West will lead the vehicle program and program operations teams. Those groups carry a vehicle through development, integration, and launch across Ford's global lineup. The announcement doesn't spell out her reporting line. The welcoming quote came from Sam Basile, Ford's vice president of Advanced Product Development, Cycle Planning & Programs, who credited her with "integrating complex products and delivering successful launches."
A truck engineer first
West joins from French supplier OPmobility, formerly Plastic Omnium, where she was executive vice president and chair of the North American business. Before that she spent more than two decades at GM, and she holds mechanical engineering degrees from Michigan State and the University of Michigan.
Much of that GM career was in engineering. As chief engineer for GM's next-generation full-size trucks, she was responsible for launching the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, according to eletric-vehicles.com, citing her biography. She then ran GM Canada from 2022 and in January 2024 became the first woman to lead GM North America, Automotive News reported at the time. She left GM after about eight months in that role, in August 2024.
That résumé lines up neatly with Ford's to-do list. In April, when it set up a new Product Creation and Industrialization organization under chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra, Ford said it would refresh 80% of its North American portfolio by volume by 2029. That plan includes the next-generation F-150 and F-Series Super Duty, the trucks that compete directly with the pickups West engineered at GM. The new announcement puts the global figure at 70%.
What's in the pipeline
The nearest launch is the Fathom, the first vehicle on Ford's Universal EV platform. It starts at $28,350 plus a $1,595 destination charge, with preorders opening in early 2027 and customer trucks due later that year. On Tuesday, Ford Racing also teased a Mustang Cobra for 2027.
By eletric-vehicles.com's count, West is the second senior GM product executive to join Ford's programs organization in roughly 13 months. Basile himself came from GM, where he was vice president of Global Product Programs, and joined Ford in October 2025 reporting to Galhotra.
Execution is where the stakes are. Quality has been a costly problem for Ford, which holds $17.6 billion for future repairs, as we laid out in our breakdown of Ford's warranty costs.
Ford hasn't said which programs West will take on first. West said she is eager to "get close to the product" once she starts.
