Transformation within Complexity

Upon joining FordDirect, a joint venture owned by both Ford and their dealers, I was tasked with leading an in-house programmatic advertising initiative.

Within six months of my joining the company, the COO and the CEO exited. A new CEO, Diane Craig (now President of Lincoln), came into the company to reset the agenda, however, the board was still expecting an in-house programmatic advertising program which had been sold in by previous leadership.

I successfully built a team, processes and partnerships and launched display, social and search advertising for multiple dealerships.  Ultimately, I evolved it to a first-party, data-led strategy and an agency partnership model.

I was promoted to SVP, of Corporate Strategy, where I led strategic imperative setting with the leadership team and personally translated it to organizational and individual goal setting for all employees. Additionally, I worked with the head of HR, Finance, and Diane to re-organize the company into more functional teams to more effectively serve the business. 

Alongside Diane, I presented the company transition to the dealers at all regional meetings, at both Ford and Lincoln national meetings, and to the Ford Executive team consisting of Jim Farley, Kumar Galhotra, Joy Falatico, Mark LeNeve, and Marion Harris. At the end of the presentation, Jim addressed me directly, thanking me for staying and leading through a challenging situation. 

The company now runs the program called FordDirect Advantage which is underpinned by the strategy I led.