DETROIT, March 12 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co on Friday nominated two younger Ford family members to its board of directors, continuing a presence among the directors for the family that founded the U.S. automaker.
Ford said it nominated Alexandra Ford English, the 33-year-old daughter of Executive Chairman Bill Ford, and Henry Ford III, the 40-year-old son of Edsel Ford, Bill's cousin who is retiring from the board in May. Both the younger Fords are great-great grandchildren of Henry Ford, who founded the Dearborn, Michigan-based company in 1903.
Both will stand for election to the board at the annual shareholders' meeting on May 13.
Edsel Ford, 72, who joined the board with Bill Ford in January 1988, and John Lechleiter, 67, who joined the board in 2013, will not stand for re-election. Edsel Ford had reached retirement age.
Bill Ford said the board expects to take additional steps to diversify its makeup going forward.
Ford English is currently a Ford director in corporate strategy, responsible for enterprise, connectivity and digital network strategic plans. Before that, she was director of market and operations for Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC and responsible for the deployment of Ford’s autonomous vehicle business in Miami; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C.
She is also Ford's representative on the board of electric vehicle startup, Rivian, in which Ford invested. Prior to joining Ford in 2017, she ran merchandising divisions for Tory Burch LLC in New York City and Gap Inc in San Francisco.
Henry Ford III is currently a director in Ford investor relations. Since joining the company in 2006, he has held roles in labor relations, purchasing, marketing and sales, and corporate strategy. (Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit Editing by Matthew Lewis)
