A family member of Ford was chairman, CEO or president of the company, but nearly 20 years of its 118-year history. And there have always been at least one and more often two Ford men serving on the board.
Women from the Ford family served as executives at the company, and women from outside the family served on the board, including three at present. “I’m glad and proud that we have a new generation of Ford family leaders who believe they should serve the company and ensure that it will be a successful and positive force in the world for years to come,” Bill Ford said.
The move was also praised by the United Auto Workers union, which represents US employees by the hour. “Although UAW members will always have differences at the table with management, there is certainty to know that there are members of the board whose decisions are not only for short – term performance, but also in the interest of the company’s long decisions, “future future as well,” the union said.
English Ford, which joined Ford in 2017, was involved in the venture to move to electric and autonomous vehicles. She is currently a director of corporate strategy at the company, responsible for strategic plans for businesses, connectivity and digital networking.
Prior to that, he was director of marketing and operations at Ford’s separate autonomous vehicle unit, and responsible for the successful deployment and operations of Ford’s autonomous vehicle business in Miami, Florida, Austin, Texas and Washington, DC. She is also Ford’s representative on the board of manufacturer Rivian, in which he has an interest.
Prior to joining Ford, she worked in the trading divisions at Tory Burch in New York City and at Gap Inc. worked in San Francisco.