Ziad S. Ojakli joined Softbank as the senior vice president and global government affairs officer in August 2018.
Prior, Mr. Ojakli was group vice president of Government and Community Relations at Ford Motor Company.
Ojakli led a team that helped shape policy and legislation to promote the company’s business objectives, including areas of international trade, the environment, autonomous vehicles, mobility, driver safety, and taxation.
As head of Ford’s global government relations, Ojakli directed engagement with governments in 110 markets around the world.
Ojakli also oversaw the company’s philanthropic arm, the Ford Motor Company Fund, which contributed to a broad range of initiatives that support education and assists communities around the world. He was chairman of Ford’s Political Action Committee, the executive champion for the Ford Hispanic Network, and a member of Ford’s Executive Diversity Committee, which serves to guide global strategic alignment for Ford’s strong culture of diversity and inclusion.
From 2001–2004, Ojakli served President George W. Bush as a Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. In this role, he managed daily interactions for the White House with U.S. Senators, assisted in strategy and policy development, and coordinated legislative strategy with the President’s Cabinet. From 1995 to 2000, Ojakli served in senior positions in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ojakli is an active board member of numerous organizations, including: past chairman of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers; the Arab American Museum Advisory Board; Arab American Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS); The Henry Ford Learning Institute; The Jackie Robinson Foundation; and serves as the Chairman of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park Advisory Board.
In 2006, Ojakli was named a delegate to the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders, joining 410 leaders from all regions of the world.
He is a graduate of Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in American Government.
