Don Butler, former Cadillac executive, has joined Ford as executive director of connective vehicles and services.
As quickly and quietly as former Cadillac executive Don Butler departed General Motors, he has resurfaced at Ford as executive director of connected vehicles and services.
In his newly created role, Butler, 50, will lead Ford’s development of a near-, mid- and long-term plan, with the goal of delivering a best-in-class customer experience both inside and outside of the vehicle, according to the company.
“Not only does Don understand the connected car landscape, but probably just as important, he understands customer expectations,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development, in a statement. “Having a leader with technology experience both inside and outside the industry is a rare combination – we’re excited to have Don join our team.”
Butler’s appointment to the job looked almost like a side note to Ford’s plans to expand its Sync AppLink system to 3.4 million vehicles. The company will allow vehicles from model year 2010 and newer to download the system.
Launched in 2010, Ford has migrated Sync AppLink enables vehicle owners to access and control smartphone apps, including TuneIn, NPR and iHeartRadio via voice command. More than 1 million vehicles are currently equipped with Sync AppLink.
Butler left his post at Cadillac in early December amid a shake up of senior management at GM’s luxury brand.
(Perry resigns marketing post at Chevrolet. For more, Click Here.)
At the time, he called his departure a “personal decision,” adding in an e-mail that, “I just need to take a step back to recalibrate, reassess my priorities.” In his note he concluded, “I know it’s time for a change but I don’t know what’s next. I’m trusting that God will provide.”
It was actually the second time Butler left GM. He originally joined the maker in 1981 and served in a variety of positions before departing in 2009, apparently due to frustrations with the maker as it sank into bankruptcy. He served a bit less than two years with a Seattle-based software start-up before rejoining GM.
(Click Here for more about Butler’s departure from Cadillac.)
Until April he was Cadillac’s vice president of U.S. marketing. But Butler was passed over when, last year, GM decided to bring in an outsider, Bob Ferguson, to serve as Caddy’s new global chief executive.
Butler remained with the GM brand but was appointed to the new post of vice president for global strategic development. Butler spent more than 25 years with the automaker holding marketing positions at Pontiac, Chevrolet and OnStar, and running GM Egypt from 2005 to 2007.