Ford Names Former FCC Chair Kennard to Board as Neal Retires

Ford Motor Co. named former U.S. Federal Communications Commission chairman William Kennard to its board, adding someone with Washington experience as the auto industry faces increased regulatory scrutiny amid mounting recalls, reported Bloomberg.

Kennard, 57, will succeed director Homer Neal, who has reached mandatory retirement age, Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said in a statement today. Kennard, who is also a former U.S. ambassador to the European Union, is currently chairman and co-founder of Velocitas Partners LLC, an asset management firm. His appointment to the automaker’s board is effective Jan. 1, one day after Neal steps down.

As chair of the FCC from 1997 to 2001, Kennard presided over the agency’s approval of AOL Inc.’s $124 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc., a marriage that later foundered.

Kennard will serve on Ford’s Nominating and Governance Committee, the company said.

Neal, who served on the board for 18 years, is leaving before his term ends in May to focus his role as president-elect of the American Physical Society and his work with the University of Michigan, where he has served in a variety of roles, including chair of the Department of Physics, according to the statement.

Ford’s shares fell 1.9 percent to $14.99 at the close in New York, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 1.6 percent.