Allan Gilmour

Allan D. Gilmour is an American businessman and former university president. In his role as chief financial officer and former vice chairman of Ford Motor Company, he was the highest ranking, openly gay executive of a Fortune 100 company.

Early life and education Allan Dana Gilmour was born on June 17, 1934 in Barnet, Vermont, and was raised on Maplemont Farm in Barnet. a homemaker, and Albert Davis Gilmour (1900-1980), He was classmates with Jay Rockefeller. After Exeter, Gilmour attended Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1956.

Gilmour was the leading candidate to become Ford's chairman and chief executive officer on two separate occasions. In 1989, he was thought to be the choice of outgoing CEO Donald Petersen, yet was passed over for Red Poling. and retired three years later in 2005. In 2011, the Board of Governors at Wayne State University unanimously elected Gilmour to serve as university president. In 2013, he retired from the university. Upon his retirement, Gilmour donated his salary that he earned during his tenure back to the university in the form of an endowed scholarship gift to honor his husband, Eric Jirgens.

Personal life

In the spring of 1994, Gilmour met Eric Jirgens, who is twenty-eight years younger than him, at a dinner party in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

Gilmour has two brothers: that raised $3.2 billion, the largest amount by a public university in the United States.

Gilmour has served as a member of the board of directors of DTE Energy Company, Whirlpool Corporation,

He was instrumental in starting the HOPE (Helping Others through Partnerships and Education) Fund at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan that provides grants and technical support to LGBTQ individuals and families.

Awards and honors

Distinguished Service Citation Award, Automotive Hall of Fame, 2007 Lifetime Humanitarian Award, State of Michigan, 2019