Mary Klupp

Corporate Experience

  • Retired after 32 years with Ford Motor Company

Previous Positions

  • My first job after graduate school was as a coder at a small computer company in Detroit.
  • Started my career at Ford in operations research where I developed the first mathematical model of vehicle option packages.
  • At Ford Division, I was responsible for forecasting sales and the production allocation for the Ranger and E-Series truck lines.
  • As the strategic research manager, my team was responsible for consumer research to support new vehicle concepts for Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Volvo and Mazda.
  • As Ford’s first futures manager, my team was responsible for worldwide consumer trends and the development of futuring scenarios for corporate strategic planning looking eight to 10 years in the future.
  • At one point, I was given responsibility for data-mining using the US vehicle-owner database. My team pioneered the development of the consumer long-term-value model used in the US.

Most Recent Position

  • Director of global consumer insights, Ford Financial

Market Research Experience

  • Advertising research
  • Customer satisfaction studies
  • Vehicle drivability research
  • Brand image
  • Powertrain
  • Corporate reputation
  • Consumer segmentation
  • Dealer segmentation

Education

  • MA, Mathematics, University of Detroit Mercy
  • BS, Mathematics, Gannon University

Professional Affiliations

  • Advisory board at the University of Georgia for the Master in Marketing Research program (MMR program)
  • Advisory board at the University of Texas at Arlington for the Master of Science in Marketing Research program (MSMR program)

Other Information

  • Published two papers in professional journals.
  • Taught seminars in:
    • Marketing research
    • Calculus III, Lawrence Tech
    • College algebra and remedial math, Oakland Community College