Adams entrepreneurial fellow joins Ford subsidiary to explore technology commercialization

Wayne State University’s School of Business Administration and Ford Global Technologies, LLC have selected Claudia Chaalan to receive the 2010 Adams Entrepreneur Fellowship. This program connects a Wayne State MBA student or alumnus with an entrepreneur for one year to investigate options for commercializing and licensing a corporate partner’s intellectual property.

Ford Global Technologies LLC (FGTL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, is a new corporate partner for the WSU fellowship in 2010. The unit manages all aspects of intellectual property for Ford and its brands. Chaalan will explore commercialization possibilities within Ford’s intellectual property assets with mentor Christopher Danowski, director of technology commercialization at the Ford subsidiary.

“Her education and experience made Claudia a remarkable candidate for this opportunity,” said Danowski. “Claudia joined our organization in early Januaryand although it has only been a couple of weeks, she is quickly learning our business processes and already is making a number of contributions with other members of the ‘One Ford’ team."

Chaalan’s background includes positions such as contract senior application analyst at Ford, project manager at Visteon Corporation and Web developer and IT analyst at Trilogy International. She is completing her final semester in the Wayne State University MBA program and is the first woman to be selected for the Adams Entrepreneur Fellowship, now in its fourth year.

“It’s a delight to pair one of our MBA students with Ford Global Technologies, LLC. This partnership is expected to produce invaluable benefits for both Claudia and Ford,” said David Williams, dean of the School of Business Administration at Wayne State.

“We presume that there are many opportunities to be discovered within Ford’s intellectual property holdings,” said Terry Cross, WSU School of Business Administration executive-in-residence and administrator of the Adams Fellowship program. “Collaborating with a partner like Ford Global Technologies, LLC is very exciting and I anticipate some outstanding results.”

The Adams Entrepreneur Fellowship program is made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

View all news stories