Ford hires former Apple exec Peter Stern to lead new software services group

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."

Stern spent the past six years at Apple as vice president of services and led the launch of Apple's portfolio of services, including Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, MLS Season Pass and Apple One.

Stern, who had been at Apple since 2016, also headed marketing for all Apple services, including the App Store, Apple Card, Apple Pay, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple Maps. He also oversaw Apple's ad businesses.

"I love creating new services businesses and this is the perfect chance to do just that," Stern said in a statement. "The auto industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, from gasoline engines to electric vehicles and from human to autonomous driving.

"At the same time, the basis for differentiation is shifting from the vehicles alone to the integration of hardware, software and services. I'll be in the middle of something truly historic and am particularly fortunate to do that at Ford, which has been democratizing automotive technology for 120 years and counting."

Ford has big plans for subscription services.

The company in May said roughly 400,000 customers, or about 12 percent of its total connected-vehicle base, now pay for subscription services offered by Ford Pro. That was 60 percent more than just a year earlier, and Ford thinks it can triple that figure to 1.2 million by 2026.

By then, executives say, 20 percent of Ford Pro's earnings before interest and taxes will come from software services.

The automaker also wants to expand its subscription offerings for retail customers. Executives said in May that about 200,000 users currently pay for BlueCruise.

“My focus here is going to be on creating customer experiences that feel like magic,” Stern said on a call with media. Experiences that are so helpful, simple and intuitive that they seem obvious in retrospect.”

Farley, on the call, said the software business will be a differentiator for the company.

“This is going to be the fastest growing revenue at Ford,” Farley said. “You are talking about enormous margins, too. What really matters to Peter and Doug [Field] and me is improving the lives of our customers.”

Before Apple, Stern was executive vice president and chief product, people and strategy officer at Time Warner Cable. He also worked four years as an associate principal at McKinsey & Co., according to his LinkedIn page.

Stern earned a juris doctor degree from Yale Law School and has a bachelor’s degree in music and English from Harvard University.