Thursday, December 19, 2002
Elena Ford, great-great-grandaughter of Henry Ford, is in international operations
By Mark Truby / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- The fast-track automotive career of Elena Ford, the great-great-grandaughter of Henry Ford, is picking up steam.
Elena Ford is being promoted to a senior management position in Ford Motor Co.'s international operations after spending a year as brand manager for the company's Mercury division, Ford spokesman Ken Zino confirmed Wednesday night.
The 36-year-old cousin of Ford Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. will focus on business planning and strategy in emerging, high potential markets such as India, China and Thailand.
"It's going to expose her to a part of the company that she hasn't experienced," Zino said.
Her exact title and reporting relationships with other executives have not been determined. She will enter her new position as a director-level executive, a step below vice president, Zino said.
Elena Ford, the granddaughter of Henry Ford II and daughter of Greek shipping magnate Stavos Niarchos and Charlotte Ford, joined Ford in 1995 and has held various marketing positions.
A graduate of New York University's business college, she is the first member of the fifth generation of Henry Ford's family, and the first woman in the family, to serve in the company's management ranks.
Elena Ford, who was unavailable for comment Wednesday, made it clear in an interview with Newsweek magazine earlier this year that she wants a seat on Ford's board of directors within five years.
There are currently three Ford family members on the company's 14-member board: Bill Ford Jr., Bill Ford Sr. and Edsel Ford, Elena's uncle.
If successful, Elena Ford would not be the first family member to secure a board seat at a young age. Bill Ford was 30 when he joined Ford's board in 1988.
Ford has not yet named a new brand manager for Mercury.
Elena Ford, great-great-grandaughter of Henry Ford, is in international operations
By Mark Truby / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- The fast-track automotive career of Elena Ford, the great-great-grandaughter of Henry Ford, is picking up steam.
Elena Ford is being promoted to a senior management position in Ford Motor Co.'s international operations after spending a year as brand manager for the company's Mercury division, Ford spokesman Ken Zino confirmed Wednesday night.
The 36-year-old cousin of Ford Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. will focus on business planning and strategy in emerging, high potential markets such as India, China and Thailand.
"It's going to expose her to a part of the company that she hasn't experienced," Zino said.
Her exact title and reporting relationships with other executives have not been determined. She will enter her new position as a director-level executive, a step below vice president, Zino said.
Elena Ford, the granddaughter of Henry Ford II and daughter of Greek shipping magnate Stavos Niarchos and Charlotte Ford, joined Ford in 1995 and has held various marketing positions.
A graduate of New York University's business college, she is the first member of the fifth generation of Henry Ford's family, and the first woman in the family, to serve in the company's management ranks.
Elena Ford, who was unavailable for comment Wednesday, made it clear in an interview with Newsweek magazine earlier this year that she wants a seat on Ford's board of directors within five years.
There are currently three Ford family members on the company's 14-member board: Bill Ford Jr., Bill Ford Sr. and Edsel Ford, Elena's uncle.
If successful, Elena Ford would not be the first family member to secure a board seat at a young age. Bill Ford was 30 when he joined Ford's board in 1988.
Ford has not yet named a new brand manager for Mercury.