In April 2025, the Ford Motor Company proudly celebrated its 100th anniversary in Australia at an event in Melbourne. Surrounded by some of the greatest Ford’s ever built in Australia, past and present employees of Ford Australia, Ford dealers, Ford motorsport stars, and notable attendees from Ford HQ, including Executive Chair William Clay Ford Jr. the great-grandson of Henry Ford, were present at Ford’s centenary celebrations.
The day also marked Ford Australia’s continued commitment to innovation, investment, employees, and community support that has seen the company becoming and remaining the largest automotive employer in the country. Ford Australia also announced an AUD$1.5-million, three-year partnership between Ford Philanthropy and the Australian Red Cross and celebrated the extension of its 100-year partnership with the Geelong Football Club, the world’s longest-running partnership in professional sport.
One of the speakers during the formal presentation at the event was Cleo Paradisis, who is a third-generation employee at Ford Australia, now in the role of Chief Engineer, Vehicle Hardware Systems at Ford Australia, and a proud member of the Ford family. Cleo’s grandfather was a machinist and her grandmother worked on the trim and final line in the 1970s working on Falcon XA/B/C. Cleo’s father, Con Paradisis, started as an operator with Ford Australia in 1974, worked his way up to supervisor and spent 20 years in this role at the Broadmeadows plant. Even now in retirement, Con still drives Ford cars and wears his Ford cap with pride.
Cleo never intended to follow in her family’s footsteps to work at the Blue Oval and initially she resisted. Cleo really wanted to work on aeroplanes and this was the reason the she studied aerospace engineering at university. But with a desire to ground herself in Australia, Cleo realised that Ford Australia was one of the few companies that offered pure end-to-end product development and this was something that was really important to her and that she wanted to be a part of.
After joining Ford Australia as a graduate back in 2004, Cleo initially undertook a number of 12-month rotations starting in Digital Innovation, where Cleo was a CAD (Computer Aided Design) Engineer, focusing on exterior ornamentation for the Falcon, which offered her a great introduction to the design process and digital tools.
The next rotation was in Vehicle Engineering, where Cleo worked as a Vehicle Integration Engineer, focusing on vehicle testing and launch support for the Indian based Fiesta. This gave Cleo the opportunity to travel to India to provide onsite support which was an invaluable experience in understanding unique market needs and the launch process. These rotations provided Cleo with a solid foundation, but she was eager to move into design engineering, where she could take ownership of a system and gain experience across the entire Product Development cycle.
“Fortunately, my ambition aligned with the timing of the first-generation Ranger program, and I landed a role designing climate control systems for the Ranger. I was involved from the initial concept phase all the way through to our first launch in 2011. Those five years were long and demanding, but incredibly rewarding. I remember feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride when we launched the product, knowing the part I played in bringing it to life,” Cleo told Driven Women Magazine.
As the Interior Systems Engineer, Cleo spent a significant portion of her career in Climate Control Systems Engineering working on a number of Global Ranger and Everest programs including Global Ranger MY11, Global Ranger/Everest MY15, NA Ranger MY18.
Shortly after the Ranger launch, Cleo was promoted to a leadership position. In that role, she continued working on several Ranger model iterations, as well as the first Everest program, for a number of years. While continuing to enjoy all the technical challenges that this involved, Cleo realised that she wanted to broaden her skillset and gain a different perspective on the business.
“That led me to take a promotional opportunity in Engineering Business Operations. This was a significant shift for me, and it gave me a completely different appreciation for business strategy and financial management within a large and complex organisation like Ford,” said Cleo.
As the Business Operations Manager across Asia Pacific, Cleo gained experience and insights into strategic planning, financial management, and overall business performance within the engineering organisation. Over the years Cleo’s portfolio of responsibilities has evolved and expanded significantly.
Now as the Chief Engineer and lead for quality, hardware integration, engineering operations and transformation, Cleo is working across all future and current Ranger and Everest models, business processes and tools, leading a talented team of 110 engineers located in Australia, India, and Thailand. Her responsibilities are quite diverse, encompassing quality, integration, systems engineering, business operations, and various transformation initiatives. It’s a challenging but incredibly fulfilling role, and Cleo is proud of the contributions her team is making to Ford’s success.
Demonstrating its commitment to the progress and achievement of employees within the Company, Ford has supported Cleo’s career progression in several meaningful ways. One of the biggest advantages has been the ability for Cleo to move across different areas of the business. Having the opportunities to work in a number of different functions and on a range of projects, has broadened her perspective and helped Cleo build a diverse skill set.
Leadership development has also been a strong focus in Ford Australia, through both formal training programs and on-the-job experiences. Cleo has had mentors and managers who have encouraged her growth and trusted her with increasing responsibility, which has been key to her development professionally.
“On top of that, I’ve been given the opportunity to travel as part of my roles, which has not only kept things exciting but also given me a deeper understanding of the global nature of the business and how things operate across different regions. Overall, I’ve felt really supported in building a career that’s both dynamic and aligned with my interests,” Cleo shared with Driven Women Magazine.
On the other side of the fence as a car reviewer, I have driven both the previous and current version of the Ford Ranger ute and one of the things that has impressed me the most is its suspension, the Ranger doesn’t ride like an ordinary ute, it’s more refined and comfortable for driving. Cleo explained that the evolution of the Ranger suspension since its inception in 2011, has combined with a deep understanding of the customer needs has resulted in the development of two suspension philosophies. One aimed at the work truck end of the market, with the other aimed at high series customers with car like plushness and comfort.
The other feature I love about the Ranger is its anchorage mounts for child seat restraint points and it was during the design process of the Ford Ranger, that the IMG Product Development team reviewed existing customer usage and market feedback to get this part of the Ranger so right.
“They considered various options for the child restraint system (CRS) tether before ultimately choosing a solid anchorage tether point design, which has since become a standard for the segment,” said Cleo.
The 100th anniversary celebration of Ford Australia was a day filled with memories, looking back on what Ford has achieved in Australia, and looking forward to what we can expect for the with the Ranger Super Duty making its global debut. The Ranger Super Duty is designed and developed in Australia and it’s the first time Ford’s “Super Duty” name has been applied to any vehicle outside of North America.
After listening to what the hardest working fleet operators needed to be more productive, Ford developed a Ranger with heavy-duty hardware and enhanced capability to stay on the job longer and help get it done sooner. In so, they are taking global mid-size truck capability to a whole new level, straight from the factory.
The headline figures for the Ford Ranger Super Duty include a 4,500kg Gross Vehicle Mass, 4,500kg maximum braked towing capacity, and 8000kg Gross Combined Mass. Available in Australia as either a Single, Super or Double Cab Chassis from launch in 2026, Ranger Super Duty will also be available as a Double Cab with style-side box in mid-2026. Ranger Super Duty will be available in two trim levels, Ranger Super Duty and Ranger Super Duty XLT (arriving mid-2026) which is designed for those who need refined long-distance capability. This variant will boast unique alloy wheels and touring-focussed upgrades and will be exclusively available on Double Cab chassis and pick-up variants only.
From its available Integrated Device Mounting System to its on-board scales, and sealed snorkel, front and rear differential locks, heavy-duty axles, suspension and chassis, the Ford engineering team has developed a new kind of Ranger that’s commercial grade but consumer friendly. The testing and development of the Ranger Super Duty has been significant to achieve these results.
“A combination of lessons learnt with Ranger globally combined with special insights for the Super Duty specific applications, such as mining/forestry, resulted in testing over and above the standard rigorous testing undertaken by the base Ranger vehicle. Tuning and testing was focussed on specific payload applications, accessories and upfitter modifications to ensure suitability and robustness to the use cases we expect Super Duty to be exposed to,” explained Cleo.
Just like my daughter, Cleo’s favourite Ford to drive is the Mustang for its power, sound and the way it handles and because it’s such an iconic vehicle and really brings out the joy of driving. Cleo also really enjoys driving the Everest as it handles effortlessly for a vehicle of its size and makes long drives feel easy, striking a great balance between city driving and weekend getaways.
“It’s great to see platforms like Driven Women Magazine highlighting the experiences of women in traditionally male-dominated industries. Whilst there is still progress to be made, I’ve seen firsthand the value diversity plays in both business outcomes and team culture. I hope that by sharing my journey I can help show that there is space for women to grow, lead, and thrive in these environments,” concluded Cleo.
Ford Australia is this country’s largest automotive employer, with a dedicated team of more than 1,500, people, and dealers operating from more than 240 sites nationwide, three of which have been with Ford from the beginning. My biggest take away from the centenary celebration, is that Ford Motor Company is still a family company and values it’s former and current employees highly, because without their passion Ford would not be the global success it is today.
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine, unless otherwise noted.