Sept 12 (Reuters) - Ford Motor ( F ) said on Thursday

head of its highly profitable commercial vehicle business unit,

Ted Cannis, would retire at the end of the month after more than

35 years with the Detroit automaker.

He led Ford Pro since its start in 2021 along with its

gasoline and electric vehicle units, building it into a

high-margin business.

His exit comes as Ford battles quality issues and losses in

its EV business, underscoring the importance of its lucrative

gasoline-powered pickups and SUVs as well as the Ford Pro

business.

"It's a surprise but there is a lot of change at Ford and it

comes with the territory. A big loss in my view," said Wedbush

Securities analyst Dan Ives.

Ford's commercial vehicle business, which CEO Jim Farley has

called the automaker's "secret weapon", posted an operating

profit of $2.6 billion and margins of 15% in the second quarter.

"Ted's energy and passion for customers has been

instrumental in building Ford Pro into a business that's

tracking towards $70 billion in revenue this year - a Fortune

100-size company in its own right," Farley said.

He said Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD) - a unit which

Cannis headed - was chasing an estimated $100 billion-plus

profit pool for maintenance, repair, parts and other services.

Cannis was also involved with teams that helped develop the

Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck.

Andrew Frick, president of the Blue unit that builds

gas-powered vehicles, will lead the Pro unit in the interim as

the company looks for a replacement.

Daniel Justo, Ford Blue's CFO, will be vice president for

FCSD from Oct. 1 and will report to Frick.

Ford's statement did not provide any details on Cannis'

future plans or his age. His LinkedIn profile showed he

graduated college in 1987.