Edsel B. Ford II is a member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. He was elected to the Board in 1988. As a consultant to Ford, Mr. Ford is active in dealer relations, customer advocacy, motor sports, and corporate history.
Mr. Ford began his career at Ford Motor Company in January 1974. He was named president and chief operating officer of Ford Motor Credit Company in May 1991 and elected a company vice president on December 9, 1993.
Mr. Ford is the owner and chairman of Pentastar Aviation, an aviation services provider headquartered at the Oakland County International Airport in suburban Detroit. He is also the majority owner and chairman of OneMagnify, a Detroit-based marketing services organization. Mr. Ford was the former chairman of the Detroit Branch of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank and also a former Board Director of the International Speedway Corporation.
Mr. Ford is very active in several charitable organizations including The Henry Ford, The
Empowerment Plan and Race Against Dementia. He is currently Board Chair of Fair Lane (Home of Clara & Henry Ford). He was the former chairman of the National Advisory Board of the Salvation Army, former Trustee of The Skillman Foundation and The Automotive Hall of Fame, as well as, a former Board Member Emeritus of The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In January 2013, Mr. Ford was presented with the Keith Crain/Automotive News Lifetime Achievement Award. In March 2017, he was honored with the Carroll Shelby Spirit Award.
Mr. Ford was born on December 27, 1948, in Detroit. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Babson College in 1973 and completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School in 1981.
Mr. Ford is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company. His grandfather is Edsel B. Ford, company president from 1919 to 1943. His late father, Henry Ford II, was president of the company from 1945 to 1960 and chairman from 1960 to 1980.
Mr. Ford is married to the former Cynthia Layne Neskow, and they have four sons. The family lives in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.