Success is made up of many variables and opportunities. This can certainly be said of John Ridgeway and his path to success as Corporate Manager of Toyota Financial Services in Owings Mills, Maryland. He has over thirty-nine years of Executive Management experience.
John was born to a loving family in the state of Delaware by parents that migrated from Alabama. Though his parents did not complete a formal education, his patriotic father, Veal Ridgeway, completed sixth grade, was a sharecropper, and served bravely as a Sargent in World War II; and his mother, Emmie
Lee completed the eleventh grade, they both worked diligently to provide for their family with good structure and direction.
John’s parents instilled in all of their children an abiding respect for people, property, honesty, education, a strong work ethic, family values, and of course unwavering faith. The family left Alabama for Wilmington, Delaware where John lived in an all-black neighborhood. Under the GI Bil his father became one of the first black union carpenters in the state of Delaware, and his mother was a housekeeper in local hotels. They strongly encouraged their children to get an education. As a result the Ridgeways saw three generations of their family attend college.
John also learned his father’s trade of carpentry and in the seventh grade he built a beautiful marble top table. Needless to say, his teachers were competing to purchase it from him. However, John’s father steered him in a different direction by pursuing a college education. He credits his father for instilling in him his problem-solving skills, an appetite to continue to grow and learn, and honoring your commitments.
John exhibits the values that he learned from his parents such as:
- provide for your family,
- own your career,
- surround yourself with good people and leaders,
- have a passion to be extraordinary, and more importantly,
- be coachable.
In 1971 John entered Delaware State University where he received his B.S. degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, John’s older brother inspired him to join Sears in the credit management training program in 1975. There, as a young executive, he encountered mentors who taught him basic leadership skills and corporate etiquette.
Early on John recognized the importance of someone taking the time to invest in his career and in return he is dedicated to investing in and mentoring others. Gerry Davies was his mentor/sponsor at Sears. Gerry inspired him with this encouraging quote, “your life isn’t determined by the dreams that you dream but by the decisions that you make.” He is pleased to affirm that “instant credit” was pioneered at Sears during his tenure. Today it is pervasive throughout the financial services system.
Throughout his career, John has moved eight times. Each move led him to new challenges. He has learned to make the tough decisions in a fact-based manner with supportive data with the ability to live with his decisions.
John worked with Sears for twenty-nine years as National Director of Field Operations. He spent two years at Bank of America as Senior Vice-President of Card Services. For the past nine years, he has been employed with Toyota.
John embraces the two pillars of Toyota which is “respect for people” and “continuous improvement”. John is committed to a diverse work place and has an inter-personal style of managing and connecting with all levels of team members. In addition to his primary responsibility of managing operations, John served on the Chairman’s Diversity Council at Sears, built continuous improvement programs (Kaizen) which resulted in significant savings in the Customer Service Centers, led several initiatives that improved team member engagement, and process improvements.
He credits his success at Toyota with mentors, Al Smith, George Borst and Paul Moss, who were instrumental in John’s transition into the Toyota culture which very much mirrored his own. Toyota invests in many charitable causes; they focus on the cause not the organization. Toyota helps youth, underserved groups regardless of ethnicity and sheltering the homeless with a genuine faith based approach. The objective is to cultivate better citizens and therefore make a major impact on the communities that Toyota serves. John demonstrates his own personal charitable objectives by giving back to his community the way his many mentors gave to him. He is active in numerous civic and philanthropic organizations such as: Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Inc., Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society, 200 Black Men and a lifetime member of NAACP, Masonic Lodge #21. He has received numerous awards and accolades for outstanding leadership both in his professional life and his personal life.
John has been married for thirty-seven years and is father to a wonderful son and daughter.
