Ferdinand Gipson

With more than 20 years of professional IT experience, Ferdinand Gipson creates solutions. He enjoys leading assignments where the visibility and stakes are high. A strategic planner and analytical problem solver, he strives to provide exceptional customer service and communication. Ferdinand is dedicated to quality, safety and integrity. His “treasure chest” includes project management, strategic planning, negotiating, process improvement and engineering.

In his current position as Business System Analyst with Henry Ford Health System, Ferdinand leads the Green-Print Initiative to reduce the organization’s printing costs. Working with leaders and employees in all departments, he has changed how people at the organization do business, saving the health system more than $3 million in printing costs. Ferdinand has won multiple awards and honors at Henry Ford, chairs an employee resource group and participates in many cultural and fundraising events and activities.

Prior to joining Henry Ford, he led the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s transition of 1,500 user accounts from an outdated software program to Microsoft Windows 7. The project was behind schedule and the organization faced a hard deadline when the current software program would be phased out. He learned the Federal Reserve Bank’s business processes and worked within their security restrictions as a government organization. Key to completing the project not just on time, but early, were tapping into existing human resources and compressing the schedule without disrupting work flow.

Since 2000, Ferdinand has been privileged to lead IT projects at organizations including IPSOS, CareerBuilder, Advantech, Dow Chemical, Weyerhaeuser, British Petroleum and WorldCom. He works with employees from the ground floor up to the executive level, assessing and communicating the need for change and growth, often to some who are resistant to change. He develops custom communication strategies to gain support for organizational goals and tracking systems to meet deadlines and ensure project successes.

Ferdinand humbly acknowledges and appreciates the many special people who contributed to his success, helping him beat the grim projections for African-American males growing up in an inner city. His parents instilled in him the desire to give his best and do it right the first time. He feels fortunate that he can now serve as a positive role model in his career and his community. In his free time, Ferdinand enjoys music, relaxing on or near water, traveling, and watching documentaries and war movies. Since moving to the Detroit area, Ferdinand has become an active volunteer in the local community and generously gives his time to causes that include Game on Cancer, the American Cancer Society, the National Kidney Foundation, government elections, and Detroit area Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.