Top Ford lobbyist ends 32-year stint
Former aide to Sen. McConnell will step into role in January
Curt Magleby, top lobbyist for Ford Motor Co. in Washington, D.C., is retiring after 32 years with the company on Dec. 31 — just as the industry prepares for a new administration amid unprecedented transformation to allelectric vehicles.
He went from Exxon petroleum engineer to financial analyst for the electronics division at the Ford Rawsonville plant in 1988.
“I still remember I had my Audi 4000 I had bought in California,” Magleby, 61, told The Hill news. “As a new MBA, you get there early, you park in front and you try to do all the things right. I remember, it was about like day three, and one of my colleagues came up and said, ‘Curt, you might want to park the car in the other parking lot.’ ”
His hard work and commitment led to international assignments that included oversight of daily plant operations in Mexico and, eventually, the top lobbyist spot in 2011.
In the new year, Laura Dove, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will step in and manage Ford’s federal government affairs team in Washington. She started at Ford in May as director of transportation policy after working as the Secretary for the Majority.
“Every Republican senator has counted on Laura to listen to our goals and concerns and help translate them into action on the Senate floor,” McConnell, R-Kentucky, told Politico in February. “She is a keen strategist who always thinks several steps ahead. She has not just been one of my own closest advisers, but a key resource to our entire majority and a central part of its many accomplishments.”
Dove, 51, was elected Secretary for the Minority in 2013 and Secretary for the Majority in 2015. Her duties included managing the Senate floor schedule and providing advice on parliamentary procedures to senators.
When Ford hired Dove earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, said she had a reputation for working across party lines.
“At a critical time in our nation’s history, Laura worked to help senators find common cause and agreement on important issues, including addressing the COVID-19 pandemic,” Carper said.
Dove will report to Mitch Bainwol, 61, chief government relations officer at Ford, who manages government relations globally for the company. He is also a corporate officer.
Meanwhile, Rachel McCleery, Ford’s government and public policy communications
manager since 2019, has been promoted to a newly created role of director, government relations for manufacturing policy. She plans to emphasize Ford’s U.S. manufacturing priorities.
McCleery, 32, who is widely respected among reporters for her rapid responses at all hours, also will manage press affairs until her successor is named.
“We are delighted that Rachel has agreed to join the Government Relations team and advocate directly with the new administration and Capitol Hill next year,” Bainwol said Wednesday. “She combines deep relationships throughout Washington, sophisticated grasp of the policy process and a deep understanding of what makes Ford Motor Co. so unique in America’s corporate and manufacturing landscape.”
McCleery is a native of Ida and the daughter of longtime UAW member Rob McCleery, a master electrician who works in Ford research and engineering in Dearborn.
Prior to Ford, she worked in several government roles. McCleery served as spokesperson for the Treasury Department’s Office of Economic Policy and Tax during the Obama administration. She spent two years as chief communications adviser and deputy policy director to Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon. McCleery managed the energy and environment policy portfolio for the late Congressman John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn, and also served as the national communications director for U.S. Sen Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich..
“Rachel was a valued member of my team, and I could always count on her to get our message out on the important work we were doing on behalf of Michigan families,” Stabenow said in June 2019. “She was with me advocating for Flint families during the water crisis and fighting unfair trade practices
that hurt our automakers and workers.”
Regardless of who runs Congress or gets elected to the White House, Ford has consistently worked toward bipartisan outreach. Bill Ford Jr., executive director of Ford, is an outspoken supporter of sustainability and the Paris Climate agreement, the international treaty signed in 2015 in Paris to slow global warming.
The Ford government affairs team run by Bainwol is rounded out by:
Matt Godlewski, 51, who will oversee state and local government affairs from Dearborn.
Michael Sheridan, 57, who will continue to lead Ford’s international government affairs.
John Kwant, 54, who will continue to manage Ford’s technology and mobility policy.