Michael Cope
Marketing Director, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA
Bachelor of Business in Marketing and Management
He has an immense sense of pride working for a company as successful and as impactful as Ford Motor Company is, says Michael Cope who is now based in Michigan in the USA.
“We employ tens of thousands of people directly, and impact millions of families around the country and even more globally. As marketing director, I’m ultimately responsible for marketing communications for Ford vehicles in the US. This includes marketing strategy, advertising, sponsorship, events and activation, interactive marketing and social media. I enjoy leading a large team and developing a high-performance culture that has a material impact on the business. In 2025, we’ve seen evidence of that and have racked up a number of industry-leading initiatives that aided in Ford now being the number 1 selling brand in the country.”
Cars have been at the heart of Michael’s career from the very beginning and since finishing university, he has worked for some of the biggest car companies in the world.
“After leaving AUT, I joined Audi New Zealand and worked for the Giltrap Group. After seven years there, I left for Hong Kong to lead Infiniti for the Southeast Asia region, before moving to Nissan North America. During my tenure at Nissan, I was accepted in the Wharton Executive MBA programme, and joined an elite group of people challenging their industries. I now consider many of these people my friends. Over the years, I’ve also led a number of award-winning advertising campaigns at the Cannes Lions and US advertising awards.
“While I take pride in my personal journey, I find the most profound satisfaction in our team's collective accomplishments. True success is reflected in our shared victories, like engineering the financial turnaround of crucial product lines from significant losses to profitability. This is demonstrated by our ability to outmanoeuvre competitors with industry-first campaigns that capture market share. Above all, I’m most proud of cultivating a team of talented, hard-working individuals who are deeply committed to each other's success and the forward momentum of the business.”
Memories of AUT
For Michael, the first step towards the rewarding career he has now was coming to AUT to study a Bachelor of Business.
“I chose a business degree because Business Studies and Economics in high school interested me, but also because it kept my options open. I figured that with a business degree I could go into marketing, sports management, accounting, politics and just about any industry. I chose AUT because of the unique learning style – AUT offered smaller, more intimate and group-like classrooms over lecture halls, and that worked for my learning style. I still remember being one of 25 students, sitting around five circular tables hearing directly from business leaders in their chosen industries about lessons they’d learnt themselves.”
There is one particular project he still remembers today.
“The most memorable moment was when a group project on business strategy culminated in a presentation on Auckland International Airport’s opportunity to grow in ancillary business lines. The presentation was to three guest businesspeople and went well, and one offered feedback that we should send the presentation to the CEO or board of Auckland International Airport. I initially didn’t think the idea was a serious one, but the guest judge legitimately thought the proposal was credible enough for their attention. The idea that our work was good enough for a listed business to consider gave me a real shot in the arm to reconsider value I could bring.”
Advice for other students
Michael, who graduated from AUT in 2008, has some great advice for other students who are only at the start of their own university journey.
“Don’t worry about what anyone thinks of you. Capitalise on every minute you have to learn.
“Don’t be too cool to ask questions and stay behind in class to talk to any guest lecturers who come in to talk to students.”
