Ford Motor has hired Peter Stern, a former Apple executive in charge of launching services such as Apple TV+, to lead a newly created group focused on developing software-based services across Ford's gasoline and electric vehicle business units.
Stern was named president of Ford Integrated Services, effective Monday, and will report to CEO Jim Farley.
He will be in charge of building out a business tied to Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driver-assist system, as well as safety and security services for the company's commercial business unit, Ford Pro.
"This is transformational, because the cornerstone of our Ford+ plan is creating incredible customer services and experiences enabled by great hardware and software," Farley said in a statement.
"There is simply no one in the world better able than Peter Stern to build this strategically vital part of our business."