Elena Ford Biography & Net Worth

Elena Ford Biography & Net Worth

Elena Ford is an American-Greek businesswoman. She currently serves as the Chief Customer Experience Officer at the Ford Motor Company. She is the first female Ford family member to occupy an executive position at the company. Her millionaire status today has been made possible by her active and dedicated involvement in the running of the car manufacturing company. Below, you find details of Elena Ford biography as well as her professional life story as a businesswoman who has defied all odds to achieve success in a male-dominated industry.

Elena Ford’s Early Life

Elena Anne Ford-Niarchos was born on May 25, 1966 in New York City, New York, United States to Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos and his American wife Charlotte Ford. Following the divorce of her parents in 1967 when she was about a year old, her mother got married to J. Anthony Forstmann in 1973. Elena’s mother later divorced from her second husband and married Edward Downe Jr. in 1986. Edward was the founder and chairman of Downe Communications.

Elena is the great-great-granddaughter of Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company. She is a granddaughter of Henry Ford II, a longtime Ford Motor Company president. Elena was close to Henry Ford II, her maternal grandfather, and even refers to him as her best friend. Henry taught Elena how to drive a stick shift in his Ford pick-up truck insisting that she learned to drive a manual instead of an automatic.

Elena Ford attended New York University where she received a bachelor’s degree in business.

Elena Ford’s Career

Following her graduation from New York University where she studied business, she found employment as an advertiser working at Wells, Rich Greene Advertising in New York City as a senior account executive. In 1995, she left her previous advertising job at Wells Rich Greene Advertising and joined Ford Motors as a marketing executive. After working under this position at Ford for a while, her set of skills and leadership attributes made her selected as Ford Motor Company’s director of global marketing,  and she was saddled with the responsibility of product management, marketing, and sales support activities. During this period, she marketed the Ford company’s development into mobility services.

In 2012, Elena was selected to take up the responsibility of leading the global Dealer and Consumer Experience group. It was her responsibility to standardize the way dealerships relate with customers around the world, and she oversaw global dealer strategy, training, planning, and consumer experience.

In 2013, Elena Ford was elected Vice President, Customer Experience and Global Dealer. This not only made her one of the 38 officers running the company, but also the first female member of the Ford family to hold an executive leadership position.

In October 2018, she was elected as the first Chief Customer Experience Officer of the company. In this role, she heads the firm in creating a world-class user experience for all of the company’s customers.

In 2019, she spearheaded the opening of a 500-person call center in Houston, Texas, United States, providing support for Ford truck dealers and owners experiencing technical issues. She also launched an “Own the Call” initiative for the company, and still serves as the Chief Customer Experience Officer at the Ford Motor Company to date.

Personal Life & Family

Elena she married Stanley Jozef Olender in 1991. He own is the owner of Stanley O’s, the estate maintenance service in New York. Five years after their marriage, the pair called it quit and Elena got married to Joseph Daniel Rippolone. In 2008, Elena Ford and Joseph Rippolone divorced by mutual agreement.

In 1997 Elena Ford and her half-siblings engaged in a dispute regarding the estate of their father. A Greek court ruled that they all had no right to their father’s inheritance according to Greek laws. In 2011, Elena was guilty of driving under the influence and child endangerment. She was subsequently sentenced to two years probation.

Elena Ford net worth

This American businesswoman is an offspring of a Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos and his wife Charlotte Ford of the Ford Motor Company family. It can be said that she inherited her entrepreneurial spirit and leadership skills from her parents who were multimillionaires before her.  In 2012 she took over the Ford Motor Company’s Dealer and Consumer Experience group, and was named vice-president of Ford Motors in 2013. For several years, she occupied the office of Director of Global marketing until 2018 when she was installed as the company’s Chief Customer Experience Officer.

Elena Ford net worth is currently $125 million. In 2013, Elena Ford was elected Vice President, Customer Experience and Global Dealer. This not only made her one of the 38 officers running the company, but also the first female member of the Ford family to hold a significant position at the company.