Steve Odell

Stephen Terence Odell (born 24 February 1955) is a former automotive executive who spent all of his career with the Ford Motor Company, and its various subsidiaries: Jaguar, Mazda, and Volvo Car Corporation. His last role at Ford Motor Company was executive vice president of global marketing, sales and service.

Early life, education, and family He was born in Romford, when part of Essex, now in the London Borough of Havering. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies from the University of Brighton. He is married, with two children, and is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Career He joined the Ford Motor Company as a graduate trainee in 1980 working his way up and through to several management positions in the marketing and sales function in both the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1997 he was appointed as a vice president of marketing and sales for Jaguar North America.

Ford of Europe From September 2005 to April 2008 Odell was a Ford Motor Company vice president, and vice president of marketing, sales and service, Ford of Europe, responsible for all marketing, sales and customer service activities in the European region, based in Cologne, Germany. In April 2008, he became chief operating officer of Ford of Europe where he was responsible for product development, manufacturing, purchasing, and marketing, sales and service operations. In this role he led a significant restructuring and successful financial turnaround whilst also shepherding the company through an extremely complex sale process that required intense focus on sustaining momentum during an uncertain time.

Ford of Europe Following the completion of Volvo's sale to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in August 2010, Odell returned to Ford as a group president and chief executive officer of Ford of Europe in August 2010, reporting to Ford CEO Alan Mulally. Initially reporting to Ford CEO Mark Fields, Odell continued on until November 2017 when he elected to retire after 37 years service at the company. At the time Jim Hackett, CEO of Ford said: