Home Depot Taps Ford's Former AI Chief as New CTO

Dr. Franziska Bell spent just 16 months as Ford Motor Company's chief data, AI and analytics officer. Home Depot decided that was enough.

The company named Bell its executive vice president and chief technology officer on March 31, with the role taking effect April 6. She reports directly to Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO, and her scope covers technology, product management, data and AI across the entire enterprise. The appointment targets what Home Depot describes as a "seamless, interconnected and data-driven experience" for both store associates and the pro contractor customers who have become increasingly central to the company's growth strategy.

Bell's resume cuts across industries few retail executives can claim. Before Ford, she served as senior vice president of digital technology at BP for five years, and held executive roles at Uber and Toyota. That cross-sector grounding in data infrastructure, logistics and consumer-facing platforms is what a company running 2,359 retail stores and more than 1,250 SRS locations appears to have been looking for.

Her stated mandate is specific: drive enterprise-wide integration of agentic AI and machine learning. That phrasing carries more operational weight than the generic "AI investment" language that saturates most corporate announcements. Agentic AI refers to systems capable of completing multi-step tasks with minimal human prompting, the kind of technology that could help a Lumber associate pull a contractor's full cut list on the fly, or let a pro customer track a commercial delivery from a job site without a phone call.

Decker framed the hire around the layered complexity of how customers interact with Home Depot. "The Home Depot is a project retailer, and customers engage with us across multiple touch points, whether that's online, in our aisles or increasingly, with AI," he said. "Fran is a respected leader in data science and AI, and she understands the power of technology to improve the customers' experience."

Bell signaled where she intends to focus first. "I've always believed that the most powerful technology is the kind you don't notice, because it's busy behind the scenes making your life easier," she said, pointing specifically to "helping homeowners confidently take on their first renovations or giving Pro contractors the digital tools they need to grow their businesses."

HD shares gained 1.67% on the day the appointment was announced.