Stephen Odell was appointed Chief Operating Officer, Ford of Europe on April 1, 2008. Prior to this, Mr. Odell was Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service for Ford of Europe, a position that he held since September 1, 2005. Mr. Odell also is a Ford Motor Company Vice President.
Mr. Odell joined Ford Motor Company in 1980 as a graduate trainee in Ford of Britain. He worked in several management positions in sales and marketing in Britain and the U.S., before being appointed Vice President, Marketing and Sales for Jaguar North America in 1997.
In January 2000, Mr. Odell joined Mazda Motor North America as Vice President, Marketing and Sales. From 2000 to 2001, he served on the board of governors of Dillard University in New Orleans, a "Historically Black Colleges and Universities" institution. Mr. Odell became Chief Operations Officer for Mazda North America in October 2000, and was then appointed President of Mazda Europe in January 2002. In May 2003, he was elected Senior Managing Executive Officer, Marketing, Sales and Customer Services for Mazda Motor Corporation, Japan, where he was also a member of the board.
Born in London, UK, in 1955, Stephen Odell is married with two children.