Ford Motor Company has announced the appointment of Randy Krieger as its president – direct markets, a new position which will focus on Ford’s distributor markets in the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia Pacific Emerging Markets.

Krieger joins the Dubai office from Shanghai where he was executive director, marketing and sales, Ford Asia Pacific Operations (APO), said a statement from the company.

In his new role, Krieger will drive a distributor centre of excellence, which brings together more than 80 distributor markets across the regions. He will be reporting to Mark Ovenden who has taken on the role of president, Ford International Markets Group.

Prior to his APO posting, Krieger was Ford’s marketing and sales director for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). He also served as president of Ford Japan and Ford Philippines, where he successfully restructured the business operations to return to profits. Krieger had also played a central role in Ford’s presence in China during the early days of Changan Ford operations.