Elena Ford
Elena Ford | |
|---|---|
 Elena Ford at the Houston Call Center | |
| Born | Elena Anne Ford-Niarchos May 25, 1966 (age 58) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Elena Ford-Niarchos |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupation(s) | Chief Customer Experience Officer, Ford Motor Company |
| Spouses | Stanley Jozef Olender
(m. 1991; div. 1996)Joseph Daniel Rippolone
(m. 1996; div. 2008)Mitchell Seldin (m. 2022) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Stavros Niarchos Charlotte Ford |
| Relatives | Henry Ford II (grandfather) Philip Niarchos (half-brother) Spyros Niarchos (half-brother) |
Elena Anne Ford-Niarchos (née Ford; born May 25, 1966) is an American businesswoman. She is the Chief Customer Experience Officer at Ford Motor Company and the first woman in the Ford family to hold an executive position at the company.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Ford was born May 25, 1966 in New York City, the only child of Charlotte M. Ford, an heiress and socialite, and Stavros Niarchos, a Greek shipping magnate.[2] Her parents were briefly married and ultimately divorced in 1967.[3][4] Her mother married J. Anthony Forstmann in 1973[5] and later Edward Downe Jr., the founder and chairman of Downe Communications in 1986.[6]
Elena is the great-great-granddaughter of company founder Henry Ford, and granddaughter of longtime Ford Motor Company president Henry Ford II.[7] Elena was close to her maternal grandfather, Henry Ford II, once referring to him as her best friend. Henry taught Elena to drive a stick shift in his F-100 Ford pick-up truck insisting she learned to drive a manual and not an automatic.[8]
Ford received a bachelor's degree in business from New York University.[9]
Career
[edit]Ford worked in advertising as a senior account executive at Wells, Rich Greene Advertising in New York City.[10] In 1995, she joined Ford Motor Company as a marketing executive.[11] She was later named the company's director of global marketing and was responsible for marketing, product management, and sales support activities. During this time, she marketed the company's development into mobility services.[12]
In 2012, Elena was assigned to lead the global Dealer and Consumer Experience group. She was responsible for standardizing the way dealerships interact with customers around the world and oversaw global dealer strategy, planning, training and consumer experience.[7]
In 2013, Elena became vice president, Customer Experience and Global Dealer, making her one of thirty-eight officers running the company and the first female Ford family member to hold an executive leadership position.[13]
In October 2018, Elena Ford was announced as the company's first Chief Customer Experience Officer. In this role, she leads the organization in creating a world-class customer experience for all Ford customers.[14]
In 2019, she spearheaded the launch of a 500-person call center in Houston, Texas, providing support for Ford truck owners and dealers experiencing technical issues. She also launched Ford's “Own the Call” initiative.[15]
Personal life
[edit]In 1991, she firstly married Stanley Jozef Olender (1960–2016),[16] the owner of Stanley O's, an estate maintenance service in Southampton, New York.[17] They had one daughter:
- Charlotte "Little Charlotte" Ford
On June 2, 1996, Ford married Joseph Daniel Rippolone, a plumber and mechanic, originally from Long Island. They had two children:
- Alessandro Ford Rippolone
- Annabelle Ford Rippolone
In 2008, Ford and Rippolone divorced by mutual agreement.[18] Elena Ford married Mitchell Seldin on July 30, 2022.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ USA Today, Elena Ford is first woman Ford family member to hold a significant position at the automaker. February 15, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
- ^ "Notes on People". The New York Times. October 22, 1971.
- ^ "Notes on People". The New York Times. October 22, 1971.
- ^ TIME (December 24, 1965). "Society: An International Marriage". TIME. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Enid Nemy (May 2, 1973). "Charlotte Ford Is Wed to J. A. Forstmann". The New York Times.
- ^ "Charlotte Ford Wed to Edward Downe Jr". The New York Times. September 1986.
- ^ a b "Elena Ford: driven to succeed". ArabianBusiness.com. June 14, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ^ Maggie Barry (August 15, 2014). "Elena Ford - granddaughter of Henry Ford II is focused on customers". Daily Record.
- ^ "Elena Ford". The Detroit News. January 28, 2009.
- ^ Press, Alissa Priddle, Detroit Free. "Heiress Elena Ford is named a vice president of Ford". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Keith Naughton (October 15, 2018). "Henry Ford Heir Named to Top Customer Service Post at Automaker". Bloomberg Business.
- ^ Alyssa Newcomb (March 25, 2016). "Henry Ford's Great-Great Granddaughter's Vision for No-Stress Driving and Car Ownership". ABC News.
- ^ "Elana Ford is named VP of automaker", Detroit Free Press, February 15, 2012, page 12A
- ^ Ian Thibodeau (October 15, 2018). "Ford heir to lead global push for better service". The Detroit News.
- ^ Thibodeau, Ian. "Ford opens call center focused on truck owners". Detroit News. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ^ "Stanley J. Olender, Formerly Of Southampton, Dies February 17". 27 East. February 22, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ "Elena Ford-Niarchos Is Married To Stanley Olender in Southampton". The New York Times. October 6, 1991.
- ^ "TAMPA BAY: A love of cars, the family name shape a Ford". sptimes.com. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
External links
[edit]- Ford Executive's Management Style Matches Strengths: 'You Can't Put All Like-Minded People Together'
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