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Geoff Polites, the chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover and former head of Ford Australia, died peacefully at his home last month at the age of 60.
Polites, who led the Jaguar Land Rover business from 2005 and recently guided it towards its ongoing sale to Tata Motors, had been battling cancer for the past two years.
"Geoff's untimely passing robs his family and friends of a man who was a real inspiration to us all," said Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Company.
"His drive and determination, combined with his clear sense of vision for the business, played a huge role in turning round the business at Jaguar Land Rover and returning it to profitability. Geoff ensured that Jaguar Land Rover was not distracted and continued to focus on the fundamentals of the business during the recent sale process, despite at the time also fighting his own personal health battle."
Geoff Polites was appointed CEO of Jaguar and Land Rover in September 2005. Previously he had been vice- president of marketing, sales and service for Ford of Europe.
From 1999 to March 2004 he was president of Ford Australia and had been closely associated with Ford, as an employee and as a dealer, for more than 30 years.
Polites joined Ford Australia in 1970 as a product planner and completed training in America and Europe, before rejoining Ford Australia in 1975 as marketing plans and research manager.
Following subsequent positions with Ford, he returned to Melbourne in 1985 as general sales manager, and held the position until July 1988, when he resigned from Ford to become dealer principal of the City Ford Dealership in central Sydney.
In early 1999 he sold his interests in City Ford and rejoined Ford Australia as its president.
David Smith, Jaguar Land Rover's chief financial officer, will take over as the acting chief executive officer at Jaguar Land Rover until a successor is appointed.
