MARK OVENDEN

President and CEO, Middle East and Africa, Ford

FORMER Ford of Britain chief Mark Ovenden has recently moved from a marketing, sales and servicing post at the firm’s Asia-pacific region to replace Nissan-bound Thierry Sabbagh at the helm of Ford in the Middle East and Africa. Ovenden, who also has two years’ experience running Ford Sollers, which includes Russia, has moved to Dubai at an interesting time. Ford has increased its market share significantly in the region of late, and Ovenden will look to build on this by exploiting strengths in crossovers, SUVS and large saloons.