HR Notices From December 12

Ford Environment and Safety Chief Sue Cischke to Retire, Robert Brown Named Her Successor: Ford Motor Co. Monday announced that Sue Cischke, group vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering, has elected to retire effective Feb. 1 after 35 years in the automotive industry.  Cischke will be succeeded by Robert Brown, who also has been elected a company officer as part of this move. Brown is currently vice president for sustainability, environment and safety engineering at Ford of Europe. Brown will assume his new position Jan. 1. Cischke, 57, has played a leading role on several of Ford's most important initiatives in the areas of environmental sustainability and automotive safety, helping Ford deliver new levels of performance of fuel efficiency, emissions and safety to Ford customers globally.  Cischke was appointed to her current role in 2008 and she has served as the company's top environment and safety officer since 2001. In this role, she has been responsible for establishing Ford's long-range sustainability strategy and environmental policy and assuring that Ford meets or exceeds all safety and environmental regulations worldwide. She also has been responsible for establishing Ford's long-term safety strategy, promoting aggressive standardization of product technology that delivers real world safety benefits. Cischke led the company's participation in the effort to develop one national standard for fuel economy, resulting in industry-wide commitments to nearly double fuel efficiency by 2025. Before joining Ford in 2001, Cischke was senior vice president of regulatory affairs and passenger car operations at DaimlerChrysler. She began her career at Chrysler Corp. in 1976 and held various engineering positions until 1994 when she was named general manager of scientific labs and proving grounds. In 1996, she was named vice president of vehicle certification, compliance and safety affairs. In his new role, Brown, 56, will assume direct responsibility for the company's environment and safety strategy, policy and performance. He will report to Alan Mulally.  Since joining Ford as a compliance engineer in 1979, Brown has held a variety of leadership positions including serving as Ford's environmental regulatory manager working in Washington D.C., assistant director in the company's Automotive Safety Office and director of Vehicle Environmental Engineering. Brown holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from University of Michigan - Dearborn and a master's of science degree in engineering from Wayne State University.