Clayton Stewart ’07 Buyer Ford Motor Company

Ford may no longer make the iconic 1960s model Falcon, but a BGSU Falcon helps manufacture the newest Ford vehicles.

As a buyer with Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Clayton Stewart ’07 sources components of axels, automatic transmissions and rear-wheel drive units. The supply chain management specialization at BGSU prepared Stewart for his role, which requires negotiating savvy, presentation skills, and clear communication. Acquiring at the multimillion-dollar level means managing “quality, timing, and cost,” Stewart said.

Since Stewart entered the workforce, the automotive industry has weathered public scrutiny and financial troubles. Stewart classifies such road bumps as evolution.

“The industry has been transforming itself since Henry Ford built the first Model T,” Stewart said. “Its been trying to consistently find new ways of doing things quicker, faster, more cost effective. … Some people see it as super stressful and they leave automotive, and others, that’s what they like about it.”

As a BGSU student, Stewart was a member of Undergraduate Student Government, a leader in Dance Marathon, and campaigned to raise $10,000 for renovations to the Jerome Library deck. He said he admired and took communication cues from Dr. Mary Ellen Benedict, a distinguished teaching professor in economics who demonstrated how to tailor an educational message for various groups, and Sherideen Stoll, chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration at BGSU who “had a good way of breaking things down so I understood them.”

“The biggest thing that BG taught me was how to listen and how to communicate,” Stewart said.

Stewart stays connected to his alma mater, and recently partnered with another young alumnus to become co-leaders of the Detroit Alumni Chapter. He’s optimistic about his future in the Motor City.

“Right now I’m learning something new every day. It’s been a dynamic and very interesting experience,” Stewart said, adding that he is likely to remain with the American automaker. “Ford is willing to show me opportunities, and there are so many different options.”