As a young mechanical engineer, Hannah Ford wanted to design supercars. Today, she designs super-bedding.
Now the chief product officer and cofounder of Sierra Dreams, a brand built on ethical, transparent sourcing and innovation, Ford brings that same precision to building products guided by values.
Her unconventional career path reflects what it looks like to follow your passion—and how those principles can shape what you build and how you lead.
Tell us about your path to becoming a chief product officer and cofounder. What inspired you to take this path, and how have your experiences shaped your leadership style?
My career path began with a very specific vision: I graduated as a mechanical engineer with the goal of designing supercars. I even landed a dream internship at BMW, but it was there that I had my first career epiphany. I realized that while I loved the mechanics, I was far more energized by the business of innovation than the technical engineering itself. This led me to the corporate world, where I spent years focused on my strategy and operations skills at Deloitte and LA-based tech company Saviynt.
While I was climbing the corporate ladder, I spent my personal time immersed in interior design. It was my creative outlet. I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but like many women, I felt I needed a certain level of "readiness" or "permission" before taking the leap.
That changed two years ago when my friend, Zach Osness, approached me about co-founding Sierra Dreams. It was the perfect intersection of my technical background, my corporate strategy experience, and my love for design. It wasn’t just a business opportunity; it was the push I needed to finally trust my gut and turn a passion into reality.
Because my background is unconventional, my leadership style is built on cross-disciplinary experience. The Engineer in me values innovation and data-driven decisions. The Consultant in me focuses on scalability and clear communication. The Designer in me prioritizes the human experience and aesthetic intuition.
I don’t believe you have to stay in the lane your degree paved for you. I encourage people to bring their "whole selves" to work, knowing that a background in one field can often provide the breakthrough solution in another.
Sierra Dreams takes great pride in its ethical sourcing and commitment to organic materials. As chief product officer, what challenges do you face in developing products that meet these high ethical standards?
Maintaining high ethical standards while building great products is honestly both our biggest challenge and our biggest differentiator at Sierra Dreams. As CPO, a big part of my role is balancing integrity with accessibility, especially as consumer expectations around transparency continue to rise.
Ethical and organic materials come with higher costs and longer lead times, so every decision requires us to think carefully about performance, durability, and long-term value to the customer. Trust me, we're well aware there are cheaper, easier ways to do this; we’re just not willing to compromise our values to get there.
Many consumers are passionate about ethical sourcing, but they may not always understand the complexities behind it. What aspects of the supply chain do you think would surprise consumers the most? What surprised you?
One thing that surprises consumers is just how rare truly high-quality, responsibly sourced materials are. Long-staple organic cotton, which we use at Sierra Dreams, makes up less than 1% of global cotton production, and an even smaller amount meets the consistency and traceability needed for premium bedding. Traceable European flax is equally scarce, as it’s highly seasonal and labor-intensive.
What surprised me most when I started digging into ethical sourcing was how many products labeled “natural” or “premium” rely on blends, shortcuts, or misleading claims once you look under the hood. Getting the real thing takes patience, long-term supplier relationships, and saying “no” far more often than “yes.”
Good products solve problems for consumers. What steps did you take to develop solutions when you founded Sierra Dreams?
We took note of how we actually live with and use our bedding; what frustrated us, what wears out quickly, and what we ended up compromising on without realizing it. There are so many little annoyances in everyday interactions with your bedding, but most conclude “that’s just how it is.” We couldn’t do that.
We spent two years ideating, prototyping, testing, and refining. Just like in science, where evidence guides the theory rather than the other way around, product development demands the same humility: You have to be willing to adjust your ideas based on real-world experience and feedback. It’s the process of persistence, learning, and iteration that ultimately leads to products that truly work.
Quality fabric, whether for clothing or bedding, is becoming harder to find. How do you define “investment” in materials, and how does that definition influence your decisions? How should discerning consumers approach investment?
I define an investment material by its feel, longevity, and cost-per-use. We’ve seen this resonate with the capsule wardrobe movement, where consumers prioritize high-quality, durable staples and spend less on trendy, seasonal pieces. As CPO, I apply this same logic to bedding. You spend a third of your life in bed; it is the ultimate "staple.”
I believe discerning consumers should approach home goods like a capsule wardrobe. Instead of replacing cheap, synthetic sheets every year, invest in premium, responsibly sourced materials that soften with age. My decision-making is driven by creating forever pieces that justify their upfront cost through superior performance and ethical integrity.
As a woman in a leadership, what advice would you give to other women looking to make a positive impact in their industries?
My best advice is to stop separating your personal values from your professional ambition. For years, I followed a traditional corporate path, but motherhood was my wake-up call. I realized I wanted my children to be proud of a mother who followed her passion, but I also simply wanted more time with them.
Transitioning into entrepreneurship was a risk that felt heavy at the time, yet it was the only path to a career that honored both my passion and my family. Don't wait for "permission" to be entrepreneurial. Leading with your "whole self" is a radical, effective way to build a life, and a career, you love.
