Ford has hired John Dion as chief transformation officer to oversee global deployment of methodologies and tools based on Lean manufacturing and related concepts. 

Dion, who will report to Ford CEO Jim Farley, will join the company in this new role on April 3, according to a press release. The company stated that Dion's responsibilities are "central to realizing the value-creation and growth potential of the company’s Ford+ plan."

“John’s an expert in all of the principles of Lean, and he and his team will provide our culture the urgency, guidance and support we need to reassert and raise Ford’s reputation for excellence, thrift, and growth," Farley said in the release. 

Dion previously worked at ESAB Corp, a Maryland-based company involved in fabrication and specialty gas-control technology, where he most recently was vice president, Business Excellence. Dion led its industrial and cultural remaking.

He was with Danaher Corp. for 24 years until 2021, holding leadership roles at six of its operating companies and Danaher Life Sciences. Dion led the integrations and transitions of several Danaher acquisitions, including the two largest: the $13 billion purchase of Pall Corp. and $21 billion acquisition of GE BioPharma, renamed Cytiva.

Dion is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where he earned both a master’s degree in business administration and bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

Dion said the chance to be part of the company right now was too good to pass up.

“Jim and everyone I met spoke with great clarity and candor about what’s possible and required to fulfill the promise of Ford+,” Dion said. “What I saw isn’t a simple program or initiative, it’s a new way of doing business – to win and create value for customers and everyone who counts on Ford.”