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Top Ford Engineer Poached By Uber To Help With Self-Driving Car Program

Ford Motor Company is losing its Director of Global Electronics and Engineering, Mr. Sherif Marakby, to transportation network company Uber. According to The Verge, the high-level Ford engineer will serve as Uber’s Vice President of Global Vehicle Programs.

Ford is just the latest casualty in the high-stakes talent-poaching game taking place around autonomous car technology. Marakby will serve under Uber’s Brian McClendon – a former Google VP in charge of mapping, who was himself poached by Uber just last year.

Sherif Marakby will relocate to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as part of the switch, in order to work at Uber’s new Advanced Technologies Center. The departing Ford engineer laid out his reasons for joining up with Uber thusly: “Over one million people die in car accidents every year – in the US it’s the most common cause of death amongst young people. Self-driving technology can help prevent these tragedies as well as improve the quality of life in cities.

“It’s one of the many reasons I am so excited to join Uber’s team in Pittsburgh.”

Ford has yet to name Marakby’s replacement.

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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