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Diane (Dockry) Ford '75, Managerial Accounting
Vice President/Controller, Integrys Energy Group
Family: Husband is Patrick Ford, children Melissa (24) and
Christy (21), an English major at UW-Green Bay



Ford : 'It's important to have a university that sees the value in business partnerships'
In 1975 Diane Ford graduated with an accounting degree from UW-Green Bay only to face an economic recession and stingy job market.
      She recalls being one of only three accounting majors that year to receive immediate job offers. She was happy that hers came in her hometown, and thrilled to be the first woman with a college degree hired by the local utility company, Wisconsin Public Service.
      How times have changed.
      Fast-forward thirty-plus years to the recent merger of WPS Resources with Peoples Energy Corporation, forming Integrys Energy Group, Inc. Ford, still in Green Bay, had moved up through the ranks as controller for WPS Resources and was offered increased responsibilities as controller of Integrys.
      Her role today includes oversight of financials for $11 billion in assets in about 40 different companies in the United States and Canada. Her staff is accountable for all of the accounting and tax work for Integrys, including establishing accounting and tax policies, compliance, budget coordination, oversight of external audits and financial reporting. Several high-level management positions, with full staffs of their own, report to Ford.
      Her career path required passion and persistence. She credits the corporate climate with allowing her to balance commitments, to company yes, but to community and family, too.
      “I started at the bottom of the accounting department, working my way to the top as chief accounting officer,” she said. “Over the years, I continued to take on new challenges, whatever they threw my way. I did this to advance my career and because it was fun but also to clear a path for the next generation of women.
      “I have always believed in the importance of balancing family, community and work. I work at a great company that encourages us to be active in the community and in our professional organizations.”
      Ford gives part of her time back to her alma mater, advising the University administration as a member of the Chancellors’ Council of Trustees.
      “I think it’s important to have a regional university that sees the value in business partnerships and in preparing the next generation of workers. Since Bruce’s (Chancellor Shepard) leadership, we see the University supporting the community, and the business community supporting the University.”
      Integrys is one of those partners.
      “We have, at any given time, ten to fifteen accounting interns working in the Integrys finance and accounting areas, many from UW-Green Bay,” she says. “This is great for the students and great for us.”
      On a personal level, Ford treasures the ability to strengthen those ties.
      “I believe I have been blessed in life so I value giving back to the community,” she says. “If all our alumni believe that, we can be a powerful force!”
Power of ‘the pockets’:
“I was a commuter student and working a number of jobs to get through school. I spent a lot of time in the ‘people pockets’ between classes.”
Connecting learning to life:
“I like to focus on the relationships between systems, people and processes and holistic approaches to problem-solving. I realized after some time, that is how I was taught to look at things at UW-Green Bay. I didn’t get it until later in life, but when I did, I realized to be successful in business I had to not see the world from some tiny little box.”
Favorite faculty:
“Karl Zehms was a wonderful accounting professor and leader. He was really interested in each of us and though his tests were extremely hard, he did it to ensure we would be successful later in life!”

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