IRVING, Texas -

Mark Fields remains involved in the automotive industry — in a heavy-duty way, as a matter of fact.

Fields, who retired as president and chief executive officer of Ford last May, recently was appointed to the board of directors of FleetPride, one of the largest independent distributor of aftermarket heavy-duty truck and trailer parts.

Fields certainly carried a heavy load during a 28-year career with the Blue Oval.

During his tenure as chief executive officer, and before that as chief operating officer, Fields oversaw Ford’s fastest global manufacturing expansion in a half-century and its most aggressive schedule of new product introduction ever.

Before that, Fields served as president, The Americas, where he developed “The Way Forward” plan to return the company to profitability. He also served as executive vice president, Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group, as well as president and CEO of Mazda Motor Corp.

“We are very excited to have Mark join FleetPride’s board. He brings a wealth of operating and marketing expertise to our company during a dynamic period of growth,” FleetPride CEO Al Dragone.

Fields recently completed a term as chair of the U.S.-China Business Council, and he currently serves on the IBM board of directors.