WOMEN TAKING THE WHEEL: POWERFUL. DRIVEN. INFLUENTIAL.

Ford Motor Company Invites you to Women Taking the Wheel

Women are constantly setting new trends and challenging companies across all industries to align their business practices, product offerings and marketing strategies. With the power of the purse comes new questions and discussion about how women are packing a serious punch when it comes to consumerism, as well as blazing a path within their own industries.

Ford Motor Company, Georgia State University and Little PINK Book are coming together in honor of National Women’s Month, National Women’s Day and the lead up to the Atlanta Auto Show to celebrate women and to discuss women’s values, purchase considerations and power in the boardroom and in the marketplace. The 2013 Ford Fusion generates this conversation as the launch of this all new vehicle is designed to bring value to all consumers, with special emphasis on a demographic Ford names “Jennifer” – a savvy, stylish, educated, career-minded women who values good brands at reasonable prices and needs a vehicle that ultimately makes her life easier.

Ford’s Sheryl Connelly, the company’s global trends and futuring expert, and Thomais Zaremba, car communications manager at Ford, will be joined on the panel by Dr. Pam Scholder Ellen, Associate Professor, Department of Marketing at Georgia State University and Cynthia Good, CEO and Founding Editor of Little PINK Book.

Sheryl Connelly, Manager, Global Trends and Futuring, Ford Motor Company

Sheryl Connelly tracks consumer trends and collaborates with people throughout the Ford Motor Company system to see how that information may impact future products.  Sheryl looks outside the automotive industry to understand what’s happening in social, technological, economic, environmental and political arenas in order to better understand shifts that are coming that may influence consumers’ values, attitudes and behaviors.  She looks for those insights and collaborates with people in Ford Design and Product Development who try to turn them into business propositions.

Dr. Pam Scholder Ellen, Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, Georgia State University

Dr. Ellen is an Associate Professor within the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. Ellen is past president of the American Marketing Association’s Academic Division, serves on four Editorial Review Boards, and has served on the planning board for the Marketing and Public Policy Conference for over 15 years. Ellen’s interests are in how consumer policies, persuasive messages, marketing claims and labels affect consumers’ beliefs, attitudes and behavior. Her research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Research.

Cynthia Good, CEO and Founding Editor, Little PINK Book

An award-winning journalist and successful business owner, Good created the #1 digital platform for career women. An internationally recognized expert and speaker on women’s advancement, you’ve likely seen her discuss women’s career issues on CNN International, CBS, ABC, CNBC and FOX. Her latest contribution, Little PINK Book, has grown into a national phenomenon, inspiring businesswomen everywhere to achieve a beautiful career and a beautiful life – and have courage to do what they love. It all started when Good launched PINK in 2005 as a website, signature event series and national women’s business magazine, which she grew to a readership of 650,000 under her leadership.

Thomais Zaremba, Manager, Car Communications, Ford Motor Company