Bodyshop – August 2019

14 BODYSHOP AUGUST 2019

What attracted you to the automotive

industry?

I grew up in Essex with a father who was

passionate about cars and ever since I can

remember I have shared that enthusiasm.

At a very early age I was helping him in the

garage. We have had some great projects

together over the years (including restoring

our own Model T) as well as some amusing

mishaps. For me, the opportunity to build

my career in automotive really drew on my

interests. Since entering the profession,

I have found that as a business it is so

dynamic - constantly changing and evolving

• which makes it exciting as no two days are
  the same.

INDUSTRYINTERVIEW

Why did you decide on Ford?

I remember being fascinated at school by

the Henry Ford story and the history of the

Model T and mass production. I am ashamed

to say that I did not enjoy history at school

with this being the one exception. Some

years later my father and I then bought

and restored our own Model T, which we

shipped from the US to our home in Essex.

During that time I learned a lot about the

car, the principles of internal combustion

as well as vehicle manufacturing methods,

all through our research and then our own

practical application. There are many Model

T enthusiasts out there and we have built a

great network over the years.

Then in 2007 Ford was hiring at the same

time that I was looking for a job and things

just aligned perfectly for me. I think in some

ways it was meant to be.

Since joining the company I have never

looked back. The culture at Ford is great - I

get to work with some inspiring and highly

accomplished individuals, but get to have

fun doing it. I am constantly amazed by the

way that as a team we are able to deal with

challenging situations, but still be able to

step back, see the lighter side and together

work out what needs to be done.

Can you give us a brief summary of your

progression through Ford, from 2007 to

your current role?

It has been an interesting and varied journey

for me, and I am fortunate to have had some

great opportunities globally. I came to Ford

in 2007 having studied industrial design and

technology at university and then worked for

18 months as a design engineer.

I started out as a programme buyer in

commercial vehicles, working on the Transit

and Transit Connect at our development

centre in Dunton, Essex. From there I took

roles in powertrain (engine) purchasing and

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role in global programmes purchasing in a

department called advanced programmes.

This role looked at our early programme

planning and was very varied in nature.

One of the aspects I enjoyed most was

having supervisory responsibility for a team

of people based in our plant in Romania

(Craiova).

In July 2014 I was selected for the

purchasing leadership programme, in

its inaugural year, and with that had the

opportunity to take a cross-functional

rotation where I worked in engine

engineering, based in Dagenham (UK) - a

really great learning experience for me.

'LÐÐ'ÐU?QÐM˾CPCBÐ?ÐLCUÐ?LBÐCVAGRGLEÐ

opportunity to take a senior manager role

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Chennai in September 2015 to take on a

position where I had regional responsibility

bodyshop magazine catches up with Emma King, Ford’s senior purchasing

manager and winner of this year’s Autocar Great British Women in the Car

Industry - Rising Stars.

Rising Star

Emma King, Ford’s senior

purchasing manager