CEO Odell may leave Volvo after Geely takes over

Stephen Odell, the Ford Motor Co. veteran who has been chief executive officer of Volvo Cars since 2008, will likely step down after Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. takes over, board members at the Swedish carmaker said.

Odell, who joined Ford of Britain in 1980 as a trainee, may be tapped to be the next chief at Ford of Europe, Magnus Sundemo, a board member who heads Volvo's engineering union, said in an interview. Volvo's leadership will probably be discussed at a board meeting today, said Thomas Ivonen, another board member at the Gothenburg-based automaker.

"Odell's been with Ford so long and is loyal to it; that's where his heart is," said Ivonen, who heads the carmaker's union for professional workers. "I feel certain he will remain with Ford."

Geely is buying Volvo from Ford for $1.8 billion in the biggest overseas purchase by a Chinese automaker. Volvo's leader will have to staunch plummeting sales to return the company to profit while tapping growth in China, which surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest car market in 2009.

Odell, as well as Geely and Ford executives, declined to say whether he will stay on when they announced the sale March 28 in Gothenburg.

John Fleming is Ford of Europe's chief now and has led the division since October 2008. Fleming added responsibility four months ago for global manufacturing and labor affairs at the Dearborn, Michigan-based carmaker.

Ford Loyalty

"Fleming didn't exactly have too little to do before he got his second job," Sundemo said by telephone. "There's a lot to be said for Odell taking over Ford of Europe."

Odell, a 55-year-old Briton, was named head of Volvo in September 2008, becoming the fourth leader since Ford bought the Volvo Cars unit of truckmaker Volvo AB in 1999 for $6.5 billion.

He was Ford's European operations chief before the Volvo job, and had been vice president of marketing sales and service in the region for almost three years. Odell previously worked at Ford affiliate Mazda Motor Corp. and led the North American marketing division for Jaguar, the U.K. luxury brand sold in 2008 to India's Tata Motors Ltd.

Odell oversaw a 9.3 percent decline in Volvo deliveries in Europe to 202,736 cars last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, as state subsidies boosted demand for smaller models by Fiat SpA and Renault SA.