Kimberley Tsolakis learned to love the Ford brand when she was a young girl, riding around in the family’s Ford and going to the annual motor show with her dad.
“As a child, my dad would take me to the motor show every year and buy me a model car to remember our time together,” Kimberley says. “Many of those models were Fords, and I still have all of them on my bookshelf right next to my desk at home.
“Whenever dad asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would say ‘work with tyres,’” she says. “He was so proud when I joined Ford and that I had the opportunities to volunteer at those same motor shows where he could now visit me.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in business with a focus on information systems, Kimberley joined Ford Australia in 2004 as a co-op student on the business process team.
She moved on to be an analyst for the business process and resource management teams, eventually moving into program management in 2011. Kimberley has since led a variety of global programs and is currently senior program management coordinator for future Ranger and Everest.
Away from her complex job of planning global programs, Kimberley finds balance and inspiration in nature.
“The warmth of the sunshine, colours of a flower, even perspective on a plant’s lifecycle gives me great energy,” she says. “Nature makes me feel connected to the world, and it reminds me to wonder and question everything I do.”
Her passion for nature is shared at home with her husband, Sam, and kids, Sophia, 11, and Raphael, 6. It is that love of nature that prompted them to purchase a beehive, and then a second one a few years later.
“We have many beekeeping books and continue to learn with each harvest of honey. We harvest twice per year and gain around 25-30 kg per hive,” she says. “We have a thriving garden thanks to our bees, and we love sharing their creation with family and friends.”
Between work, family, her children and beekeeping, Kimberley’s schedule is tightly packed, but she still finds the time for one of her oldest passions, baking.
“I received my first Kid’s Cookbook when I was around 8 years old and still refer to it to this day,” she says.
Kimberley can often be found at home refining her signature New York baked cheesecake, lemon yoghurt cake or lemon slice, chocolate chip cookies and scones to share with her family.
“I learned how to make gnocchi as a child, watching and helping my Nonna. I now use the same tool and method she did to share that experience with Sophia and Raphael,” says Kimberley.
And just as Kimberley did with her father, young Raphael is learning a love of the blue oval from his mum.
“Raphael is an absolute car fanatic – Ford in particular,” Kimberley says. “He likes to draw Mustangs and asks me a million questions a day about Ford.
“Raphael also has a massive model car collection,’ says Kimberley. “Every time we add a new car to the collection, it makes me think back to those motor shows with my dad.”
