Title: Vehicle Line Director, Product Development, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa
Gary Boes was practically born to work in the automotive industry. Growing up in the small town of Zeeland, Michigan, he worked side-by-side with his father in the family body shop as a youth.
In college Boes studied mechanical engineering and gained valuable on-the-job industry experience working for Johnson Controls/Prince Automotive. His first job out of college was with General Motors – but he soon moved to Ford, and never looked back.
Boes has had a storied career with Ford. He is currently Vehicle Line Director, Product Development – Asia Pacific and Africa, based in Shanghai, China. Previously he held the position of T6 Vehicle Line Director (base in Melbourne, Australia), having worked his way up through the ranks as a systems engineer, launch manager for the 1995 Ranger and Explorer, chief engineer for the Thunderbird, Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, and programme manager for the 2005 Mustang.
“My proudest achievement with Ford was working on the design, development and launch of the Flex, from Program Start all the way through to Ship/Buy,” he said.
Boes enjoys a challenge, and takes pride in knowing that he’s making a difference for drivers all over the world by helping to build a better pickup truck. According to Boes, the Ranger’s capability and toughness will win it a lot of fans.
“I’ve worked hard to ensure that the global Ranger will be fully competitive in the marketplace, in every aspect,” he said. “This launch is going to be huge for Ford. The new Ranger is going to surprise a lot of drivers and competing manufacturers.”
Boes’ career with Ford has taken this Michigan native to the U.K., Italy, and now Australia, where he resides in Melbourne with his two daughters, aged 16 and 18. Along the way he picked up a Master’s degree in business administration.
Boes enjoys watching motorsports, especially F1 racing. In his free time he enjoys running to stay fit.
Personal insights and fun facts:
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Boes drives a Ford Territory to work every day.
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He has owned several hobby vehicles in the past, but being based overseas means he must keep the number of cars in his garage to a minimum.
