• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Ford Motor Co. has hired the former Whirlpool CMO as its chief brand officer.

Shannon Blakely joins the automaker this week. Her LinkedIn account describes the position as “Ford’s global brand steward, responsible for bringing the company’s brand promise to life across all business units and regions.” While she refers to herself on LinkedIn as "Chief Brand Officer," her official title according to Ford is "executive director, global brand."

Ford lost its global CMO Lisa Materazzo as of June 1. Dean Stoneley will take over as interim CMO while Ford searches for Materazzo's replacement. Stoneley is currently global product marketing executive director.

Blakely reports to Stoneley, according to a Ford spokesperson. 

The Chicago resident spent almost three years at Whirlpool as CMO North America and JennAir brand president, ending in April. She also held marketing positions at Whirlpool previously for almost seven years starting in February 2014.

Her other stints include marketing leadership positions at Robert Bosch Tool Corp. and Dunkin’.

Elle McCarthy held the chief brand officer position at Ford from May 2024 to October 2025, reporting to Materazzo. She worked closely with Materazzo in launching “Ready Set Ford,” the automaker’s first global brand initiative in 15-plus years. She was based remotely in California. 

Another of Ford’s prior chief brand officer, Musa Tariq, for whom the role was created, left the company in 2018 after 16 months. Forbes named him one of the world’s top 10 most influential CMOs in 2017.