Elena Ford
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{short description|American businesswoman}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Elena Ford
| birth_name = Elena Anne Ford-Niarchos
| image = Elena Ford in office.jpg
| alt = Elena Ford
| caption = Elena Ford at the Houston Call Center
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|May 25, 1966}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Stanley Jozef Olender|1991|1996|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Joseph Daniel Rippolone|1996|2008|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Mitchell Seldin|2022}}
}}
| children = 3
| parents = Stavros Niarchos
Charlotte Ford
| relations = Henry Ford II (grandfather)
Philip Niarchos (half-brother)
Spyros Niarchos (half-brother)
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names = Elena Ford-Niarchos
| alma_mater = New York University
| known_for =
| occupation = Chief Customer Experience Officer, Ford Motor Company
| networth =
}}
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.USA Today, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/driveon/2013/02/15/elena-ford-vice-president-henry-ford/1923555/ Elena Ford is first woman Ford family member to hold a significant position at the automaker.] February 15, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
Early life and education
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.{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/22/archives/niarchos-weds-tina-livanos-formerly-the-wife-of-onassis.html | title=Notes on People | work=The New York Times | date=October 22, 1971 }} Her parents were briefly married and ultimately divorced in 1967.{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/22/archives/niarchos-weds-tina-livanos-formerly-the-wife-of-onassis.html | title=Notes on People | work=The New York Times | date=October 22, 1971 }}{{Cite magazine |last=TIME |date=1965-12-24 |title=Society: An International Marriage |url=https://time.com/archive/6628715/society-an-international-marriage/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |magazine=TIME |language=en}} Her mother married J. Anthony Forstmann in 1973{{Cite web |author=Enid Nemy |date=May 2, 1973 |title=Charlotte Ford Is Wed to J. A. Forstmann |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/02/archives/charlotte-ford-is-wed-to-j-a-forstmann-matron-of-honor-dinner-dance.html |work=The New York Times}} and later Edward Downe Jr., the founder and chairman of Downe Communications in 1986.{{Cite news |date=September 1986 |title=Charlotte Ford Wed to Edward Downe Jr |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/01/style/charlotte-ford-wed-to-edward-downe-jr.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}
Elena is the great-great-granddaughter of company founder Henry Ford, and granddaughter of longtime Ford Motor Company president Henry Ford II. 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.{{Cite web |author=Maggie Barry |date=August 15, 2014 |title=Elena Ford - granddaughter of Henry Ford II is focused on customers |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/peoples-ford-likes-focus-customers-4051932 |publisher=Daily Record}}
Ford received a bachelor's degree in business from New York University.{{cite news |date=January 28, 2009 |title=Elena Ford |url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-detroit-news/20090128/281517927007326 |publisher=The Detroit News}}
Career
Ford worked in advertising as a senior account executive at Wells, Rich Greene Advertising in New York City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/driveon/2013/02/15/elena-ford-vice-president-henry-ford/1923555/|title=Heiress Elena Ford is named a vice president of Ford|last=Press|first=Alissa Priddle, Detroit Free|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US|access-date=November 18, 2019}} In 1995, she joined Ford Motor Company as a marketing executive.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-15/henry-ford-heir-named-to-top-customer-service-post-at-automaker|title=Henry Ford Heir Named to Top Customer Service Post at Automaker|publisher=Bloomberg Business|date=October 15, 2018|author=Keith Naughton}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/henry-fords-great-great-granddaughters-vision-stress-driving/story?id=37903991|title=Henry Ford's Great-Great Granddaughter's Vision for No-Stress Driving and Car Ownership|author=Alyssa Newcomb|date=March 25, 2016|work=ABC News}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/transport/422067-driven-to-succeed|title=Elena Ford: driven to succeed|website=ArabianBusiness.com|date=June 14, 2019 |language=en|access-date=November 21, 2019}}
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."Elana Ford is named VP of automaker", Detroit Free Press, February 15, 2012, page 12A
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2018/10/15/elena-ford-family-motor-new-chief-customer-experience-officer/1648348002/|title=Ford heir to lead global push for better service|publisher=The Detroit News|date=October 15, 2018|author=Ian Thibodeau}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2019/09/09/ford-opens-call-center-focused-truck-owners/2264671001/|title=Ford opens call center focused on truck owners|last=Thibodeau|first=Ian|website=Detroit News|language=en|access-date=November 21, 2019}}
Personal life
Ford has married three times. In 1991, she married her first husband, Stanley Jozef Olender (1960–2016),{{Cite web |date=2016-02-22 |title=Stanley J. Olender, Formerly Of Southampton, Dies February 17 |url=https://www.27east.com/southampton-press/stanley-j-olender-formerly-of-southampton-dies-february-17-1457345/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=27 East |language=en-US}} the owner of Stanley O's, an estate maintenance service in Southampton, New York.{{Cite web |date=October 6, 1991 |title=Elena Ford-Niarchos Is Married To Stanley Olender in Southampton |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/06/style/elena-ford-niarchos-is-married-to-stanley-olender-in-southampton.html |work=The New York Times}} 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.{{cite web |title=TAMPA BAY: A love of cars, the family name shape a Ford |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/08/TampaBay/A_love_of_cars__the_f.shtml |access-date=June 19, 2015 |work=sptimes.com}} Elena Ford married Mitchell Seldin on July 30, 2022.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ford-executives-management-style-matches-strengths_us_5956b734e4b0326c0a8d1056 Ford Executive's Management Style Matches Strengths: 'You Can't Put All Like-Minded People Together']
{{Niarchos family}}
{{Henry Ford}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Elena}}
Category:Businesspeople from New York City
Category:People from Birmingham, Michigan