Facing charges, Elena Ford.
Ford executive – and family heiress – Elena Ford is facing a series of charges after being arrested Sunday night.
The 44-year-old great-great-granddaughter of Henry Ford was taken into custody after her car jumped a curb and police determined she was intoxicated. She was charged with child endangerment, as well as drunken driving, because she had youngsters in the vehicle when police arrived.
Describing the incident as a “personal matter,” a Ford Motor Co. spokesperson referred calls to Elena Ford’s lawyer. He, in turn, said the executive would comment “at the appropriate time.”
Other than Ford Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., Elena Ford is the most prominent family member still working for the 108-year-old automaker. She is the daughter of Charlotte Ford – herself the child of Henry Ford II – and Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos, and switched her name to Ford before joining the family company in 1995.
With a degree from New York University, Elena Ford started out as a truck advertising specialist with the Ford Division but has since worked through a variety of positions within the company. Her current position is with Ford Motor Credit, where she heads global brand and marketing operations.
Since joining the automaker, Ford has pushed to get her voice heard, though that has occasionally generated some controversy. She is credited with coming up with the oft-debated naming strategy used by the Lincoln division, where most models share the letters MK, as in MKX and MKZ.
Ford also kicked up some dust, some years back, when she asserted her intention to land a seat on the Ford board. So far, however, that has not happened. The only family members on the board, currently, are Bill Ford and his cousin Edsel Ford II.