Ford New Zealand Appoints New MD

Annaliese Atina is the new Managing Director of Ford New Zealand, taking over from Simon Rutherford. He is moving to a new regional role within the Ford International Markets Group.

Andrew Birkic, President and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand, commented “We’re excited to have Annaliese joining the Ford family. We look forward to her insights and ideas gained from her wealth of experience.

“Ford will certainly benefit from her perspective and the new lens she can put on serving our customers.”

Annaliese joins Ford New Zealand following several senior executive roles within Coca-Cola Amatil and One New Zealand. Ms Atina has a customer-focused, forward-thinking approach, and a passion for building innovative, agile teams. She believes this is key to delivering strong commercial outcomes.

“I am excited to be joining the fantastic team in New Zealand,” she said. “Ford has a rich history in New Zealand and is both locally and globally a leading brand with a promising future. It’s a great time to be joining and I look forward to working closely with our team and dealers to help serve our customers better.”

Ms Atina is a member of Global Women and the Institute of Directors NZ. She is a board member of TUANZ (Technology Users Association of NZ). She is also Head Coach of the Ambition Collective founded to uplift women in business and newly appointed Principals.

Ms Atina takes over as MD of Ford New Zealand on May 27, allowing for a transition with and handover from the outgoing Ford NZ MD.