New President for Ford Australia
September 24, 2008 by David Twomey
Ford Motor Company has appointed the third President and CEO of its Australia operations in the past six months – and the first Australian since Geoff Polites, following the resignations of Tom Gorman and then his successor Bill Osborne.
The new boss of Ford Motor Company Australia is Marin Burela, currently Vehicle Line Executive Director, Global Small Car Segment Vehicles.
He will relocate to Ford Australia’s Melbourne offices from October 1, and report directly to John Parker, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific and Africa.
Both Mr Gorman and Mr Osborne, long-term Ford executives, left the company to take up positions outside the automotive industry.
Mr Burela’s experience with bring small cars to the market, including the latest Fiesta, will be vital in reviving the fortunes of what has become known as the ‘Falcon Car Company’.
Mr Burela will be replaced in his current job by John Sullivan, currently Director of Product Development, Asia Pacific and Africa, who will relocate to Cologne, Germany.
Mr Burela first joined Ford Motor Company in 1984, and has served in a variety of senior management positions in manufacturing, sales and marketing, and product development, in Asia, Europe and North America.
These included a number of senior management roles at Ford of Australia, where he was last based in 1998.
Mr Burela’s appointment to lead Ford Australia marks a return to where his career began with Ford as an engineering graduate of Ford of Australia’s graduate program nearly 25 years ago.
“Mr Burela’s strong leadership and broad experience within Ford Motor Company will be vital to driving the successful future of Ford Australia’s operations.
“ As a native of Geelong (Ford’s Australian birthplace), his return to Ford Australia allows him to lead not only one of Ford’s more strategic global markets, but one for which he has such a strong affinity,” said Mr Parker.
Mr Burela joined Ford of Europe in 2004 to lead the development of Ford’s Global Small Car product portfolio.
This included the new global Ford Fiesta, which is currently being rolled out in European markets, and soon by markets in the Asia Pacific and Africa region.
In addition to his roles at Ford Motor Company, Mr Burela held senior management positions at Jaguar and Land Rover, under Australian Ford icon the late Geoff Polites.
At Land Rover, he was responsible for the group’s manufacturing operations, and appointed to the Board of Land Rover in 2000.
Mr Burela was also appointed to the Board of Jaguar and Land Rover in 2002, before re-joining Ford of Europe in 2004.
In assuming his new role as Vehicle Line Director, Global Small Car Segment Vehicles, John Sullivan will lead the ongoing development and success of Ford Fiesta, as well as the future small car programs that are a defining part of Ford’s new global product strategy.
In his previous role as Director of Product Development, Asia Pacific and Africa, Mr Sullivan oversaw a team responsible for creating and implementing an integrated product development team and product-cycle plan across the APA region.
“John was responsible for establishing our regional APA Product Development team, and leading, on behalf of the region, the critical collaboration which now takes place across our global product development system,” explained Mr Parker.
Prior to his posting in Bangkok, Sullivan worked as Technical Director, International Operations for Ford, Jaguar and Volvo at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Dunton, England.
He also served as Chief Engineer for Ford of Europe from 1998-2005, where he was responsible for the body and safety engineering systems of the vehicles. Sullivan began his career with Ford in 1978.
Sullivan is a technical expert in the fields of Body Structure design, vehicle crash systems and analytical engineering systems (CAD/CAE/CAM).
Print it: 
Ford is definately NOT crap. The new FG is class, I was very surprised when I drove one last week. The Territory is good, Focus and Fiesta are both at the pointy end of the class, Mondeo is fantastic, and the new Ranger is also a work horse which is one of the best in its class. And even the Transit van has been a legend forever.
In fact, the only car in Ford AU line up which is a dud….is the completely out dated Escape, and that will be replaced by the new Kuga. Ford is definately not crap – but has one of the best and quality car combinations in Australia.
It all comes down to consumers. And we all know there are more less “smart” people who will buy an inferior product for $1000 less or if it has a Holden badge on it…although it is a Daewoo.
-TS
The Salesman,
fair comment on those other issues too, but a smaller engined car doesnt always mean cheaper servicing and insurance.
for eg if you have an imported 4cyl, it usually means parts are dearer to service/repair it, and when parts are dearer, insurance is dearer.
the only one thats for sure is that rego is cheaper. and even then its only to the tune of around 100 bucks.
and on resale…….
if you ask me, when buying for private use, why would you buy new???
motorvehicles are a terrible invesment regardless of the number of cylinders under the bonnet
Yes its true Fords are crap. I wish i was wrong. After reading about the new FG Falcon XR6 turbo ute, I thought this is the car for me! Off I went to to the dealer ship. No XR6 turbo there so I had a climb through a XR8. Well, after sitting in it for One minute I hated it. I found four examples of poor fit and finish in moments. The seat was not comfortable. I scratched and almost cut my finger on the sharp plastic door handle trying to get out. The seat wasn’t even comfortable and didn’t appear to be lined up properly with the foot pedals. After all this, I didn’t car how fast it might be.
I suspect these faults run through the entire range because the new falcon is not selling anything like they expected. Besides it just looked like a tarted up BF.
In the interest of fairness, whilst I maintain that most fords are crap, the new Focus and Mondeo seem ok. I enjoyed driving the Territories i have hired but one of them tried to kill me when cut out completely whilst cruising at 100km on the highway. In another incident on a dirt road the ABS didn’t want to slow the car down at all an i nearly drove right off the track! This kinda destroyed my trust in Ford completely. Australian made ones anyhow…
sam you are a tool.
the FG interior is miles above anything else in its class.
its a complete redesign over the previous BF.
did you also know ABS stands for Antilock Braking System, not Automatic Braking System.
ABS isnt meant to slow a vehicle……
you are probably that guy a read an article about a while ago that set his cruise control in his motor home and went back to make a cup of tea thinking cruise control would totally control the vehicle
and in the interest of fairness,
i actually find that the falcon is better than the mondeo in both fit and finish and seat comfort.
the mondeo has nothing on the falcon.
i did a back to back comparo a while ago and couldnt believe how poorly the mondeo seemed after being seated in the falcon
Actually Andrew ABS can be calibrated to operate differently on broken surfaces to sealed surfaces but I wouldn’t expect you to know that, nor Ford Australia for that matter. Ford Australia will be like Chrysler here soon. Just a shop for products made overseas. I hope I am wrong because it would be very bad for our economy and the Industry. A locally build Focus is a good plan and is about the only solution, until Ford Head Honchos work out that it can be built in Thailand with the new Fiesta for half the price.
By the way, hopefully I can get a steering wheel mounted switched for the kettle instead of having to get up to switch it on in future.
Sam,
I doubt VERY MUCH that you know more than they do.
Ford spends millions of dollars on research and development of the products they sell.
Re calibrate ABS? You can change a little bit of the traction control at a factory level with the module, is that what you mean?
Andrew M
New cars make a good argument for value, safety, finance packages and choice.
Used car sales are currently on a decline in general because customers see more value in a new car, this is not the case for every one. The difference between a used car and a new one in terms of finance package makes a minimal difference to you’re weekly commitment and you get the latest model, latest safety, and better interest rate due to the lower overall risk for the finance company.
Its Kim Beazley’s long lost twin brother.
He’ll suffer the same fait. Its impossible to respect someone that has more respect for donuts than themselves!
Can someone ask the Donald to run Ford Australia.LOL.
Salesman,
What I mean is that some cars can detect whether they are on a loose surface or not so that when ABS is activated it works slightly differently.
Sam,
Oh, now I see, I didn’t think about that.
Tell me these cars you speak of, can they also detect if you are steering into the path of danger and correct your steering for you, or apply the brakes if you forget?
Have you heard about the one where you can turn on the cruise control and say “home please” them let go of the steering wheel?
ABS has one function, stop the wheels from locking up under heavy braking so you have directional control.
How does the surface change that?
Sarcasm intended….
‘Actually Andrew ABS can be calibrated to operate differently on broken surfaces to sealed surfaces but I wouldn’t expect you to know that, nor Ford Australia for that matter.’
Wow and to think people called me arrogant on here.
This guy must be an engineer for Bosch..
Sam, i’m sorry but unless the vehicle is braking traction on a loose surface, it has no way of knowing whether its on snox, tarmac, dirt or marshmallows for that fact. As the other bloggers have pointed out, ABS stops wheels from locking while the vehicle is still moving. you can increase or decrease the sensitivity of it, but not differentiate on the fly
The Salesman,
mate i totally accept your point.
new cars have never been more affordable, and over the last 5 years or so in which that has been the case, the A*se has fallen out of the used car scene.
fair comment on interest rates etc,
but you neglect that the lower interest rate generally applies to vehicles up to 2yrs old.
also a 2 yr old vehicle is easily 10K cheaper
My Bad,
Forgot the two year rule, klms and price come into it as well.
Cheers,
Anyone else thinks he looks like Morn from Star Trek >_
(forgot about silly HTML coding)
But as I was saying;
Good luck to him, hope his expertise from being in the Small Car division at Ford means we’ll get the full suite of Fiesta models (right up to Titanium).
Would be nice to have a Fiesta-sized car with a much larger car’s luxury equipment and refinement etc (within reason of course =p)
Wow there are some people here who really have no sense of humour at all.
Of h man calm down.
It will however have an impact at the company canteen.
And no this is not a personal attack on the man. He won’t read it, so it’s not personal!!
(Of h man calm down.)
Please read man oh man calm down. My typing if off today!
I drove a “game changing” Toyota Aurion deisel yesterday……..oh there isnt such a thing ? Well by all the clattering coming from the engine it sounded like a 20 year old deisel !! bloody hell……..Toyota quality !!!
Good luck to him and a pisano too.LOL
Anyone who thinks all ABS systems are the same doesn’t know shit from clay. Also, just because a car has a good review, doesn’t make it a good car. Didn’t the Holden Camira win the Car of the Year in 1982? That was the worst car of all time.
Sam,
You make alot of bold statements,
Sam says,
Actually Andrew ABS can be calibrated to operate differently on broken surfaces to sealed surfaces but I wouldn’t expect you to know that, nor Ford Australia for that matter.
In another incident on a dirt road the ABS didn’t want to slow the car down at all an i nearly drove right off the track!
What I mean is that some cars can detect whether they are on a loose surface or not so that when ABS is activated it works slightly differently.
Sam, my question to you is.
Please explain how many ABS systems there are, I am keen as I am sure so is Ford motor company is to draw from you pool of knowledge.
Your eager student,
The Salesman
Mercedes invented ABS way back in the 1970’s. It was available by the early 1980’s in the big ‘S’ class models. By 1986 I think it was available in the new mid size sedan in 3 channel. Later, 4 channel was here and each wheel could then be braked at independent levels. This was back when ABS worked autonomously.
Now with VSC, ABS might work without you even having you foot on the brake in some circumstances.
A modern Mercedes, for example, can apply different levels of braking to some wheels, whilst delivering driving power to others, all at the same time, all without your foot on the brake.
So given that ABS these days might be fitted to work in conjunction with many other vehicle stability control systems and the fact that there has been a long developmental history, its anyone’s guess, Salesman, how many different types there really are.
It would be foolish to assume that Ford ABS is as good as or operates the same as ABS in a Mercedes, the inventors and industry leaders in this field
Sam Says,
Now with VSC, ABS might work without you even having you foot on the brake in some circumstances.
VSC or vehicle stability control is a separate system that uses a steering wheel sensor, speed sensor on each wheel, and rotation sensor, the information is sent to an on board computer 80 time a second.. The system will apply the brake to one or more wheels individually depending on the feed back from the sensors to correct under steer and over steer, it will even reduce power to the wheels through the transmission, it works in conjunction with TC, ABS it does in NO WAY control ABS separately.
The system was designed by Bosch and used in Grand Prix cars before it was cheap enough manufacture for use in mass produced cars.
So I am right, even if my explanation wasn’t perfect, cheers.
WOW!!!!!
is this guy still going???
and on that The Salesman,
dont ford still use Bosch ABS systems???
Sam,
you were never driving a territory on a dirt road at all were you??
everything you have said totally stinks of lies. if you want to make up B/S, you might want to know some background on the B/S you are speaking of
Just reading on other auto sites how the new Ford AUS CEO is a well regarded Ford executive who knows the nuts and bolts of the company and is also respected by the motoring press.
He appears to be a good choice for the top job at Ford AUS.
Andrew M,
Yes, but VSC will not activate ABS without your foot on the brake.
Cheers
The salesman,
its ok mate,
you dont have to explain ABS to me.
Did you know that ABS doesnt slow the vehicle when you have a brain malfunction and forget to push the brake??
some dont ha ha ha ha ha
when i commented that ford use bosch systems, it was in reply to sam saying fords systems are crap. bosch are respected for having good systems.
Adam,
well i hope he goes great guns.
the last guy had no hope.
his speaches showed he had no knowledge or passion towards what he was in charge of.
I should have left this go, Sam sounds like a zit faced kid with no clue.
Bring back the model T… check this out ..OI Burela..I just landed this 1913 C cab delivery Van ..made from american oak & maple ..what u say we make this again huh…then me you…vamMMOOOSSSS baby ! c`mon nothings changed !!