- Ford Motor Company announced that Alexandra Ford English, daughter of Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr., will immediately join the board of electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive
Ford Motor Company announced that the daughter of Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. is immediately joining the board of electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive. Alexandra Ford English is currently serving as the director of corporate strategy at Ford Motor Company where she is responsible for the company’s enterprise strategy and connectivity and digital network strategy.
Rivian Automotive received a $500 million investment from Ford Motor Company in April 2019 followed by an additional equity investment in December 2019. And Ford said it was planning to develop a new vehicle based on Rivian’s skateboard platform. That vehicle is in addition to Ford’s plan to develop a portfolio of battery electric vehicles as part of its previously announced $11 billion of EV investments.
English had joined Ford Motor Company in 2017. And before joining the corporate strategy team, she was a member of the Ford Autonomous Vehicle LLC team and a member of the City Solutions team. Prior to joining Ford, she was responsible for managing profit and loss operations for customer-centric businesses in the merchandising divisions of Tory Burch in New York and Gap Inc. in San Francisco.
English is replacing Joe Hinrichs on the Rivian board.
Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski told The Detroit Free Press that out of Bill Ford’s four children, only English is employed at Ford.
The son of Bill Ford’s cousin Edsel Henry Ford III works in investor relations. And he joined the Ford Foundation board of trustees in 2019.
Rivian Automotive — which is based in Plymouth, Michigan — is scheduled to launch its products in the US next year. And then Rivian’s vehicles will be rolled out to other markets later on.
Key Quotes:
“Alexandra and I share a deep passion for mobility and electrification, and her connection to Ford’s long family role in transportation is something special. I am looking forward to working closely with her and the perspective that she will bring to the Board.”
-Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe
“Our strategic partnership with Rivian plays an important role in the future of fully networked battery electric vehicles. With Alexandra’s experience in mobility and self-driving services, she will bring a unique perspective to Rivian’s board during this transformational time in our industry.”
-Jim Hackett, Ford president and CEO
