Melissa Thompson is the Executive Director of Global Talent Acquisition where she is responsible for building a best-in-class global Talent Acquisition and internal mobility function, aligning business strategies with people strategies to attract and hire the best possible talent to drive Ford into the future. Melissa brings over 25 years' experience in Global Human Resources and Talent Acquisition as a strategic and collaborative executive. Prior to joining Ford, Melissa served as SVP, Talent Acquisition at Nielsen and VP, Talent Acquisition at McGraw Hill Education. Additionally, she has held leadership roles at Dell, Citrix, Lenovo and Bank of America. Melissa holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. She is a charter member and served for 3 years on the board of the Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals (ATAP) and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the i4cp Talent Acquisition Board. Melissa is based in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex where she spends time with family and reconnects with friends from both college and high school. She is a member of the board of trustees at her alma mater, Austin College. Melissa is a farm-to-table restaurant afficionado, an avid Scrabble player and enjoys beach vacations.