Joe Liemandt, CEO of Trilogy, Brian Kelley, Ford VP & Chris Porch, head of the Ford-Trilogy joint venture

Photo: Ford

"Our customer-focused e-business strategy reflects the future of Ford Motor Company, and Trilogy was the clear choice as the Internet partner to ensure that our Internet strategy-and the strategy of our dealer partners-is a global success," said Jac Nasser, president and CEO of Ford MotorCompany. "Trilogy's extraordinary Internet experience, technology and company culture complement Ford's e-business drive and the strategic initiatives we already have underway with other strong partners."

"The joint venture we plan to form with Trilogy fits well with Ford's overall Internet strategy," said Brian Kelley, president of Ford ConsumerConnect and vice president of Ford Motor Company. "Our top priority is to have the world's finest Web sites for our Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar and Mazda brands. This venture will work closely with our dealers to make our sites the most powerful in the industry."

"Ford demonstrates the vision to become the premier online force in today's trillion dollar automotive industry," said Joe Liemandt, president and CEO of Trilogy Software. "The new venture will be armed with the best people, technology and resources and will help Ford move at Internet speed in deploying global customer-facing e-business initiatives. The end result will be a synergy between Ford.com and Ford's thousands of worldwide dealers to offer consumers the best buying experience on and off the Web," Liemandt added.

While Ford will retain a majority stake in the initiative, both Ford and Trilogy are making a significant financial investment in the new company, as well as additional investments in the form of employees and technology. An initial group of Ford and Trilogy employees will form the new company's core team that will include product and e-commerce experts.

(Feb. 23, 2000)