Interview with Elena Ford, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Ford Motor Company

Elena A. Ford, the Chief Customer Experience Officer for Ford Motor Company and the great-great-granddaughter of Henry Ford, visited the Girls & Boys Club of Greater Dallas as part of the current collaboration between the philanthropic Ford Fund and the nonprofit organization First Book. The community-focused initiative aims to increase access to books and encourage STEAM education for children in low-income families by providing new books, learning materials, and other essentials to children in need.

TFL: It's becoming increasingly important to consumers that a brand be involved in the community, and obviously that's something that Ford's been doing for decades. Can you speak about Ford's philosophy regarding that concept?

EF: At Ford, we exist to make people's lives better, and one of our advantages is that we have dealers all over the world. We partner with them and the community, and we have our dealers here today because we want them to be part of this literacy platform we're launching with First Book. We're giving away 10,000 books here today in Dallas, and then we're going to go to two other markets; and we want them to be part of it because they are the face of Ford in the community. So partnering with the Ford Fund, who has already had a partnership with First Book, we want to take that to the next level and we want our dealers actively involved.

TFL: What is so great about this particular partnership?

EF: For me, I really think that First Book is a platform and a company and a partner that is renowned in the things that they do; they've been in existence for a long time. They've done 100,000 books with us already, and I feel very strongly that they are grounded in the way they do business and where they get their books. They believe that every kid should have a new book; and to me, that's extremely important. And I think that's a really good reason to have a partnership with them. In the markets they go to across the United States, they feel strongly about partnering with places like The Boys & Girls Club, and they make sure that kids in need have books to read and books to take home to their families.

TFL: What do you hope to see as the outcome or the result in the future?

EF: I'd like to see, as we go to new markets and as we do this in Dallas, that we have the sustainability and a sustainable part of the program. One of the reasons I asked the dealers to come today is that they are our partners in the market. And we'll do that in each market, we'll bring the dealers and the Ford Fund which is obviously part of Ford Motor Company. So we work with them as well. I want to see sustainability; I don't want to show up, do this event, and leave. That's not what we're about. So I need the dealers to help with First Book: What are some ideas that we can do with them? What is in the communities that they serve? How do they feel? Who do they want to partner with? And how do they want to give the books away? So it is very important to me to have the Texas dealers involved, or when we go to Kansas City to have the Kansas City dealers involved, or Phoenix same thing. They'll be the sustainability with the Ford Fund in the market.

See additional information below or visit:
Ford Fund

First Book

Girls & Boys Club of Greater Dallas