Sheryl Connelly

Sheryl Connelly is the global consumer trends and future manager for Ford Motor Company, a role she has held since 2004. Serving as Ford’s corporate futurist, Connelly is responsible for identifying global consumer trends that feed into functions across the entire company, including design, product development and corporate strategy. Prior to joining the trends team, Connelly spent eight years of her 17-year career with Ford in a variety of field positions for Ford Division, including wholesaling product to more than 140 dealers and assisting in the execution of new franchising agreements. Before working for Ford, she practiced law.

In addition to a Juris Doctorate, Connelly holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s in business administration. She teaches design research at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. Connelly has been a guest lecturer at Massachusetts Institute for Technology, University of Michigan and Wharton School of Business and a featured speaker at TED Global. Her strategic viewpoints have been published in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Financial Times and BBC, and she has been profiled in Automotive News, Forbes and Edmunds. Fast Company magazine named her the 24th Most Creative Person in Business in 2013.