Ford Motor Company (F  ) hired former Apple Inc. (AAPL  ) executive Peter Stern as president of its newly-formed Ford Integrated Services unit to help build its hands-free highway driving business.

Stern will build the business tied to Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving system and productivity and safety/security services and oversee new physical services, marketing services, and Ford Next. He will report to Ford President and CEO Jim Farley.

"This is transformational, because the cornerstone of our Ford+ plan is creating incredible customer services and experiences enabled by great hardware and software," Farley said. "There's simply no one in the world better able than Peter Stern to build this strategically vital part of our business."

Previously, Stern served as the vice president of Services at Apple, overseeing Apple TV+, iCloud, Apple News+, Apple Books, Apple Arcade, Apple One, and Apple Fitness+. Among others, Stern also managed Apple's ad businesses during rapid growth.

With the new president, the Ford Integrated Services unit plans to create software-enabled customer experiences across Ford Blue, Model e, and Ford Pro.

Before joining Apple in 2016, Stern was Time Warner Cable's EVP and chief product, people, and strategy officer. He began his career at McKinsey & Co.

"The auto industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, from gas engines to electric vehicles and from human to autonomous driving," said Stern. "At the same time, the basis for differentiation is shifting from the vehicles alone to the integration of hardware, software and services," he added.

Price Action: F shares are trading higher by 0.62% to $12.22 on the last check Monday.