Ford's Hau Thai-Tang, Frederiek Toney retiring to make way for Amazon exec

Two veterans of Ford Motor Company will retire later this year, just as a new exec from Amazon comes in to take over their roles. The Blue Oval made the announcement Thursday in what the Detroit Free Press is calling a shakeup.

Hau Thai-Tang, who was named chief industrial platform officer only in March, is probably best known to enthusiasts as the man who ushered in the Mustang renaissance. He led the development team for the fifth-generation pony car, the S197 that ushered in the modern age of retro-styled Mustangs with a deep nod to the muscle cars that made them legends.

After his success with that project, he was promoted to head of SVT, the company's performance arm, in 2006, back when that was still a thing. However, the following year Thai-Tang was moved to Ford Brazil to oversee the company's largest global market. In his 34 years at Ford, he has overseen projects such as the Bronco, Maverick, Mustang Mach E, F-150 Lightning, as well as the aforementioned Mustang.