Automotive Fleet, October 2018
BACK TO CENTER As he takes up the reins as Ford Motor Co s Central regional commercial sales manager Todd Farabee reflects on his 21 year tenure with the company and how his experience will help shape the way he tackles his new role BY TARIQ KAMAL T he Central U S is a vast stretch of land that runs from Grand Forks to New Orleans and encompasses about 20 states Managing this geographically and industrially diverse territory for Ford Motor Co s commercial sales division is Todd Farabee who manages a nine person AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I OCTOBER 2018 36 team of national account managers from his offices at Ford headquarters in Dearborn Mich Farabee is new to the position but a 21 year veteran of the company He has served in myriad roles in numerous divisions and multiple states He spent his first years in manufacturing starting with a supervisory role at Fords Rawsonville Mich components plant in 1997 before advancing to a series of positions through multiple Ford plants that tested his problemsolving skills Farabee believes those years in manufacturing honed his ability to cultivate strong relationships at a critical point in his career having had to earn the trust of plant management and the United Automobile Workers team He hopes that experience among others will serve him well as he prepares for a new chapter on the fleet side Its the exact same thing the interaction with the plants is the same as the interaction if youre a field rep calling on dealers and customers Farabee said It is all about the communication Relevant Experience While Farabee got his start on the manufacturing side of the industry and now works in commercial sales he had a number of stops in between He took a hard turn into marketing and sales in 2003 serving as a brand specialist and then field manager in Chicago He then moved back to Dearborn in 2007 before relocating to Seattle a year later a year after that he was in Irvine Calif working in a sales and inventory management role for the Western region AT A GLANCE Todd Farabee is Central regional commercial sales manager for Ford Motor Co He and his team of account managers will support fleets in the Central U S by Working closely with customers to deliver the information they need to make good decisions Planning with account managers and customers on everything from product selection to delivery Keeping fleet customers up to speed on new products and technology PHOTO ANDREW KELLEHER Todd Farabee is the Central regional commercial sales manager for Ford Motor Co where he began his automotive industry career in 1997
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