In his new role, Mark Deans will work alongside Malcolm Wilson, BP-Ford Team Director and owner of M-Sport, Ford's partner for its main motorsport activity, the FIA World Rally Championship. Deans will be the focal point through which Ford will continue to support M-Sport and drive future success for the BP Ford World Rally Team, most obviously via close ties with the company's Product Development and engineering disciplines.
Deans will also be responsible for developing further the effective marketing of Ford's WRC and other motorsport activities such as Formula Ford, in particular through extended advertising, sales promotion, sponsorship and merchandising programmes. It is for this reason that Deans will report directly to Stephen Odell, Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service, and to Ian Slater, Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for Ford of Europe.
Deans is no stranger to Ford's motorsport activities, as he was Manager of European Motorsport Programmes between 1985 and 1989 based at Boreham, the company's former rallying HQ. In that role, he ran Ford's involvement in many National Race and Rally programmes and had direct contact with Malcolm Wilson when he was Boreham's World Rally Championship test driver, as well as other great rally drivers like Carlos Sainz, Didier Auriol, Stig Blomqvist and the late Mark Lovell. Â
"We're delighted to welcome Mark Deans back to the Ford Motorsport management team, and in his new position he will play a major role in pulling together even closer the various parties involved in our WRC programme – M-Sport, Ford's own engineering and marketing teams, and our valued sponsors BP and the Abu Dhabi Tourist Authority, who are vital to the team's continued success," said John Fleming, Ford of Europe's President and CEO.
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