Ford has reshuffled its senior management team and moved two key British executives following years of political infighting.

Sir Nick Scheele, chief operating officer, becomes president with responsibility for product development and information technology across the group. David Thursfield, president of international operations and global purchasing, has taken early retirement but will act as consultant to chairman Bill Ford Jnr.

It means that Jim Padilla, head of American operations, is promoted to chief operating officer. Padilla, a high-flying American executive, is the man credited with spearheading Ford's financial turnaround.

“Padilla is all about results,” says Bill Ford. “That shows in what he's accomplished in the past couple of years. The company has made nearly $6bn (£3.4bn) in profitability in the past two years and much of that can be attributed to improved quality, greater customer loyalty and reduced costs in North America.”

Net earnings for the first quarter of this year rose to $1.95bn(£1.1bn) from $896m (£504m) a year earlier.

Last year, a supposed boardroom rift forced Ford Jnr to call in executive coaches to stop the quarrels.