In an all but certain partnership with Volkswagen to create and improve self-driving vehicles, Ford recently announced that it will be expanding its autonomous vehicle testing tech to Detroit. This new high-tech push, which builds on testing planned in Pittsburgh, Miami, Palo Alto, and Washington, shows that Ford is extremely serious about being the car company of the future.
The technology push is enhanced even more by some major company changes, including the recent promotion of Ford heiress and great-great granddaughter of Henry Ford himself, Elena Ford.
Henry Ford (1863-1947) founded Ford Motor Company in 1903. His legacy lives on with Great-Great Granddaughter Elena Ford at the helm of the Ford Customer Experience.
Elena Ford’s new position at Ford is Chief Customer Experience Officer, which is a role designed to use both technology and process improvements to make the customer experience across the board as uniform as possible.
Elena Ford’s new position at Ford is chief customer experience officer, which is a role designed to use both technology and process improvements to make the customer experience across the board as uniform as possible. Elena Ford has already spent significant time in many of Ford’s most high-profile areas, including marketing and sales, where she was tasked with building a global marketing strategy for the auto company.
One of Elena’s crown technology achievements so far is the FordPass app. With a short time frame to get it completed, Elena Ford worked with an app developer to create Ford’s app for both Ford drivers and enthusiasts who may buy a Ford car.
The start to finish development time for the FordPass app was a year and a half, an extraordinarily short amount of time for an app designed to be the high-profile, high-tech introduction to the Ford driving experience. Elena Ford shepherded the app with her team, and it now offers everything from ways to track maintenance of Ford cars to help finding gas stations, service centers, and more.
Elena was also involved with the integration of partners and their services within the app. While many partners, including ParkingWhiz’s reserve-a-parking-spot service, worked out, others did not. FlightCar, a service that would have allowed Ford drivers to park for free near the airport and then rent out their cars to other people, didn’t work out because FlightCar went out of business.
“That’s a really good lesson learned,” Elena Ford told Automotive News around the time of the app launch. “We’re learning how fast we can do things and how fast we can’t do things. We’re definitely learning about traffic, parking, and how to integrate partners.”
With FordPass, all members will have access to a marketplace of mobility services including the ability to find and pay for advance parking more easily.
Today, the FordPass app boasts a number of features that Elena Ford helped develop and sharpen, such as vehicle health alerts that allow car owners to track fuel and auto issues. The app can also help users find restaurants, gas stations, and more. App users can also lock, unlock, stop, and start their vehicles remotely.
Elena Ford has worked for the auto manufacturer since she graduated from New York University with a degree in business administration and management. As someone who has worked for Ford for over 24 years, Elena Ford has held the titles of vice president of global brands and marketing, director of e-marketing and e-solutions for consumer connect, and vice president of global dealer and customer experience, among others.
Elena Ford’s rise comes just as Ford is making a serious play to aim for a high-tech future. In Elena’s role, she’ll be traveling all over the world to unify the Ford purchase and lifecycle experience. For Elena Ford and crew, this means changing the minds of people who work across Ford departments, from dealers to credit.
Elena wants Ford team members to build lifelong loyalty among Ford buyers, from when they buy their first car to each purchase after that. As families change, kids leave for college, and parents become older, Elena Ford wants them to stay Ford customers over time.
Elena Ford’s new role is helping tech-savvy Ford customers enjoy the same experience from start to finish. Under Elena Ford’s new assignment as chief customer experience officer, expect Ford to utilize a combination of technology, common sense, and imagination to help each customer get the smoothest and most well-crafted experience possible.
Dil Bole Oberoi
