Ford supply chain exec departs, F-150 Lightning plant still closed

Annie Liu, a former head of supply chain, battery and energy at Tesla who joined Ford Motor Co. last year, left her role with the Dearborn automaker this week, the Detroit Free Press confirmed Friday.

Liu was executive director of purchasing for the Ford Model e line of all-electric products and technology.

“I spoke with Annie last night,” Ford spokesman T.R. Reid said Friday. “She said that her plans changed, influenced by the needs of her family. Like others here, I wished her the best. She expressed the same for Ford and where it’s going.”

Reid said her departure was unrelated to the recent Lightning battery issues.

Liu’s affiliation with Ford is not mentioned in her LinkedIn professional profile.

Annie Liu, an engineer who worked at Microsoft and Tesla, is now executive director of purchasing for Ford Model e. She is considered an expert in global technology sourcing, with a specialty involving batteries and raw materials. Liu plays a key role is getting materials needed for the Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning.

She does list her 15 years at Microsoft and nearly 3½ years at Tesla, which ended in May 2020.

She described on LinkedIn her accomplishments at Tesla, a Ford rival, this way: “Forged multi-billion dollar partnerships with key strategic Battery Cell and upstream raw material suppliers to meet Tesla’s rapid growth. Trusted supply chain partner in scaling up novelty battery and energy technologies. Led a global team of Global Supply Managers and Industrialization Engineers to support Tesla’s Battery and Energy business units including Battery, Battery Raw Materials …”

A message sent to her via LinkedIn on Friday seeking comment about the Ford departure was not immediately returned.

Ford CEO Jim Farley and Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler each pointed to ongoing supply chain issues as a challenge when discussing a grim 2022 earnings report in early February this year.

‘Leads sourcing’ no more

Liu was playing a key role as executive director of purchasing for the Ford Model e line of all-electric products and technology, Ford noted in July 2022 during a news media call that included industry analysts. Liu is considered an expert in global technology sourcing with a specialty involving batteries and raw materials.

Lisa Drake, Ford vice president of EV industrialization for Ford Model e, said at the time the demand for lithium and nickel was overwhelming. Liu reported to Drake.

“Attracting new talent to the team is one of the ways we’ve managed to move so quickly,” Drake said in mid-2022. “I’m very pleased to announce Annie Liu. She joined us several months ago. … She now leads sourcing for Model e components and the embedded systems for Ford globally. Annie has tremendous knowledge about technology supply chain development, especially when it comes to raw materials and mining.”