There's no doubt you've heard of her, probably even talked to her; now, hear her story.
In 1968, Pfizer made a really good decision. They recruited an award-winning communications professional, Ellen Rochford, into their Personnel department as manager of communications.
Over the next 17 years, Ellen left her mark at Pfizer. Oh wait a minute ... she still is leaving her mark! Many retirees know Ellen not only from her outstanding career at Pfizer, but her career after Pfizer. Ellen is the Editor of the Plus newsletter, which she introduced for retirees in 1981.
What you may not know is that Ellen traveled all over the U.S. and around the world to capture and report on the stories of Pfizer's business and its people for the company magazine, "The Scene." When the then Chairman and CEO saw the magazine covers displayed proudly in the halls where Ellen worked, he asked why he was only on 4 of the covers! Ellen explained that she was busy trying to get some exposure for the other 42,000 employees at the time.
Ellen expanded the communications program at Pfizer by creating the PULSE Survey (still in place today), a bi-weekly newsletter for Pfizer's headquarters office and a management newsletter. She also initiated a very popular holiday art contest for children of Pfizer colleagues, and a holiday cookbook (which she still uses today).
When Ellen retired from Pfizer, she left teary-eyed. She felt as though she was leaving her family behind. She met so many people from so many different places, and she felt very fortunate to have been part of the Pfizer family.
What's so amazing is that she is still very connected to her Pfizer friends. Ellen makes a point of having lunch with Pfizer friends, attends all the retiree gatherings, and keeps in touch via e-mail and phone.
Ellen may be retired, but she surely doesn't act like it. When she's not in the midst of editing Plus, Ellen enjoys traveling, meeting new people, cooking, and auditing classes at Columbia University. Somehow, she also builds in plenty of time to visit with her four grandchildren.
To learn more about Ellen, view her profile.
