Ford's Alan Mulally retiring....Mark Fields to replace him
04-22-14, 12:33 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Ford's Alan Mulally retiring....Mark Fields to replace him
Hope this is not a duplicate or a repost (I did a forum-search).
An official announcement will probably be coming soon (by May 1) that Ford's (IMO) quite-successful CEO Alan Mulally will retire and be replaced by Mark Fields. I don't like to use crude language, but sometimes the shoe fits......Ford, as I see it, has made incredible progress since the days (even as late as the 1980s) when Henry Ford II considered the company his private fiefdom (firing even Lee Iacocca for no credible reason), and strutted around town like a peacock with his head up his a**. Mulally, arguably more than any other CEO in the last 30 years, has been of the big reasons why Ford improved so much. He oversaw a complete restructuring of the company that did not require any Government money, UAW funds, or a foreign company like with GM and Chrysler. Personally, though, I miss Mercury's presence, and Ford DID lay off a LOT of workers to get its budget balanced, but this also brought a series of new, much-improved vehicles. Yes, there were a few duds along the way, such as the much-criticized MyTouch/SYNC systems, some reliability problems in the latest Explorer, and the unrefined dual-clutch transmissions in the Focus and Fiesta. But, overall, Mulally leaves the corporation in much better shape than it was when he took over. IMO, Like Lee Iacocca, he will go down in automotive history as a classic company-saver, though, unlike Iacocca, he was not a smooth-talker in front of cameras or pushing substandard, poorly-built vehicles.
Enjoy your retirement, Mr. Mulally...you have earned it.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...ields/7971783/
Ford Motor within the next month will make it official that heir-apparent Mark Fields succeed retiring Alan Mulally as CEO, according to multiple reports on Monday.
The announcement will come by May 1, according to Bloomberg News, citing two unnamed sources. CNBC, meanwhile, reported that the switch would be announced within a month and pointed out that the automaker's annual meeting is set for May 8 in Delaware.
In December 2012, the Ford board, as part of a succession plan, created the No. 2 position of chief operating officer and named Fields, 53, to it, making him the presumed heir. Mulally, meanwhile, said and has continued to say, that he would retire by the end of 2014.
Ford officials refused to confirm the reports that an announcement is imminent.
"There is no change from our previous announcements and we do not comment on speculation. We take succession planning very seriously, and we have succession plans in place for each of our key leadership positions. For competitive reasons, we do not discuss our succession plans externally. If something were to change, we would let everyone know," spokeswoman Susan Krusel said in a statement.
Unlike the surprisingly quick announcement and promotion of Mary Barra to CEO of General Motors, Fields has been running the daily operations at Ford for 15 months and taken Mulally's spot in key planning meetings in what is viewed as a thorough and lengthy transition.
Mulally, meanwhile, has said he is concentrating on longer-term strategy and he has already taken a lower profile, such as, for example skipping public appearances at last week's press preview of the New York Auto Show where the redone 2015 Ford Mustang and the 50th anniversary of the Mustang were featured.
Fields, 53, is credited with restructuring operations in North America prior to his promotion in 2012 to the COO.
At the time of Fields' promotion, Mulally, 68, confirmed plans to remain with the automaker through the end of this year, but the board of directors is said to be open to an earlier date.
The board next meets ahead of the May 8 shareholder meeting when they are up for re-election to their positions.
The timing of Mulally's retirement became an issue last year when he was on a list of candidates to become the next CEO of Microsoft. The publicity became a distraction at Ford and there were concerns it diverted attention from the big product push Ford has this year.
One offshoot of the speculation is the market remained stable in a signal it is not jittery about the transition from Mulally to Fields.
Mulally left Boeing in 2006 to take over as CEO of Ford. He is credited with uniting a fractious leadership, creating a global product development strategy and leading the automaker through the 2008 financial crisis with savvy decisions that made it possible to avoid filing for bankruptcy in 2009 and avoid using government assistance.
An official announcement will probably be coming soon (by May 1) that Ford's (IMO) quite-successful CEO Alan Mulally will retire and be replaced by Mark Fields. I don't like to use crude language, but sometimes the shoe fits......Ford, as I see it, has made incredible progress since the days (even as late as the 1980s) when Henry Ford II considered the company his private fiefdom (firing even Lee Iacocca for no credible reason), and strutted around town like a peacock with his head up his a**. Mulally, arguably more than any other CEO in the last 30 years, has been of the big reasons why Ford improved so much. He oversaw a complete restructuring of the company that did not require any Government money, UAW funds, or a foreign company like with GM and Chrysler. Personally, though, I miss Mercury's presence, and Ford DID lay off a LOT of workers to get its budget balanced, but this also brought a series of new, much-improved vehicles. Yes, there were a few duds along the way, such as the much-criticized MyTouch/SYNC systems, some reliability problems in the latest Explorer, and the unrefined dual-clutch transmissions in the Focus and Fiesta. But, overall, Mulally leaves the corporation in much better shape than it was when he took over. IMO, Like Lee Iacocca, he will go down in automotive history as a classic company-saver, though, unlike Iacocca, he was not a smooth-talker in front of cameras or pushing substandard, poorly-built vehicles.
Enjoy your retirement, Mr. Mulally...you have earned it.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...ields/7971783/
Ford Motor within the next month will make it official that heir-apparent Mark Fields succeed retiring Alan Mulally as CEO, according to multiple reports on Monday.
The announcement will come by May 1, according to Bloomberg News, citing two unnamed sources. CNBC, meanwhile, reported that the switch would be announced within a month and pointed out that the automaker's annual meeting is set for May 8 in Delaware.
In December 2012, the Ford board, as part of a succession plan, created the No. 2 position of chief operating officer and named Fields, 53, to it, making him the presumed heir. Mulally, meanwhile, said and has continued to say, that he would retire by the end of 2014.
Ford officials refused to confirm the reports that an announcement is imminent.
"There is no change from our previous announcements and we do not comment on speculation. We take succession planning very seriously, and we have succession plans in place for each of our key leadership positions. For competitive reasons, we do not discuss our succession plans externally. If something were to change, we would let everyone know," spokeswoman Susan Krusel said in a statement.
Unlike the surprisingly quick announcement and promotion of Mary Barra to CEO of General Motors, Fields has been running the daily operations at Ford for 15 months and taken Mulally's spot in key planning meetings in what is viewed as a thorough and lengthy transition.
Mulally, meanwhile, has said he is concentrating on longer-term strategy and he has already taken a lower profile, such as, for example skipping public appearances at last week's press preview of the New York Auto Show where the redone 2015 Ford Mustang and the 50th anniversary of the Mustang were featured.
Fields, 53, is credited with restructuring operations in North America prior to his promotion in 2012 to the COO.
At the time of Fields' promotion, Mulally, 68, confirmed plans to remain with the automaker through the end of this year, but the board of directors is said to be open to an earlier date.
The board next meets ahead of the May 8 shareholder meeting when they are up for re-election to their positions.
The timing of Mulally's retirement became an issue last year when he was on a list of candidates to become the next CEO of Microsoft. The publicity became a distraction at Ford and there were concerns it diverted attention from the big product push Ford has this year.
One offshoot of the speculation is the market remained stable in a signal it is not jittery about the transition from Mulally to Fields.
Mulally left Boeing in 2006 to take over as CEO of Ford. He is credited with uniting a fractious leadership, creating a global product development strategy and leading the automaker through the 2008 financial crisis with savvy decisions that made it possible to avoid filing for bankruptcy in 2009 and avoid using government assistance.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-22-14 at 12:39 PM.
04-22-14, 12:51 PM
#2
Lexus Champion
I worked with Alan at Boeing. I would like to congratulate him on his achievements at Ford and wish him well in his retirement.
04-22-14, 03:14 PM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Alan Mullaly was worth every penny they paid him. There would be no Ford without him. I was kind of hoping for him to get the Microsoft job. Too bad that didn't pan out.
Here's hoping for continued success at the blue oval under Fields.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using IB AutoGroup
Here's hoping for continued success at the blue oval under Fields.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using IB AutoGroup
04-22-14, 03:27 PM
#4
04-22-14, 03:47 PM
#5
Lexus Champion
04-22-14, 04:12 PM
#6
Lexus Champion
Credit should also be given to the current executive chairman, William Clay Ford, Jr. for realizing that he could not do the job of running his family's company on a daily basis, which led to his hiring of Alan Mulally as president.
It takes a big man to realize your own shortcomings and stepping aside for the betterment of your family's company. Bill Ford gave up the post of president, handing it over to the outsider, Alan Mulally, who had no experience in automotive manufacturing when he took the position of president in 2006.
It takes a big man to realize your own shortcomings and stepping aside for the betterment of your family's company. Bill Ford gave up the post of president, handing it over to the outsider, Alan Mulally, who had no experience in automotive manufacturing when he took the position of president in 2006.
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04-22-14, 06:53 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Credit should also be given to the current executive chairman, William Clay Ford, Jr. for realizing that he could not do the job of running his family's company on a daily basis, which led to his hiring of Alan Mulally as president.
It takes a big man to realize your own shortcomings and stepping aside for the betterment of your family's company. Bill Ford gave up the post of president, handing it over to the outsider, Alan Mulally, who had no experience in automotive manufacturing when he took the position of president in 2006.
It takes a big man to realize your own shortcomings and stepping aside for the betterment of your family's company. Bill Ford gave up the post of president, handing it over to the outsider, Alan Mulally, who had no experience in automotive manufacturing when he took the position of president in 2006.
05-01-14, 04:10 PM
#9
Mark Fields named next Ford CEO, Mulally to retire on July 1
Press Release
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/05/01/m...ord-ceo-video/
Ford Announces Alan Mulally Retiring on July 1; Mark Fields Named Company President and CEO
Alan Mulally to retire from Ford on July 1, after serving as president and CEO and
leading the company's One Ford global transformation since September 2006
Mark Fields named Ford president and CEO, effective July 1; Fields served as COO
since December 2012 and led Ford's transformation in North America since 2005
Long-planned, seamless CEO transition underscores strength of Ford's leadership
team and succession planning process, Executive Chairman Bill Ford says
DEARBORN, Mich., May 1, 2014 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today that Alan
Mulally has decided to retire from the company July 1 and Mark Fields will be named Ford
president and chief executive officer and elected as a member of the company's board of
directors.
"From the first day we discussed Ford's transformation eight years ago, Alan and I agreed that
developing the next generation of leaders and ensuring an orderly CEO succession were
among our highest priorities," Executive Chairman Bill Ford said. "Mark has transformed several
of our operations around the world into much stronger businesses during his 25 years at Ford.
Now, Mark is ready to lead our company into the future as CEO."
Mulally, 68, is retiring after nearly eight years leading Ford and capping a remarkable 45-year
career. Mulally has led Ford's transformation and strengthened its position as one of the world's
leading global automakers. Under Mulally and the company's One Ford plan for profitable
growth, Ford has achieved 19 consecutive quarters of profitability, developed the strongest
product lineup in Ford's history and embarked upon the company's most ambitious global
expansion in the past half century.
"Alan deservedly will be long remembered for engineering one of the most successful business
turnarounds in history," Bill Ford said. "Under Alan's leadership, Ford not only survived the
global economic crisis, it emerged as one of the world's strongest auto companies. We always
will be grateful to Alan for his leadership, compelling vision and for fostering a culture of working together that will serve our company for decades to come."
The transition in July is approximately six months earlier than previously anticipated, following
Mulally's recommendation to accelerate the timetable based on the readiness of Ford's
leadership team.
"Alan and I feel strongly that Mark and the entire leadership team are absolutely ready to lead
Ford forward, and now is the time to begin the transition," said Bill Ford, who recruited Mulally
from Boeing in 2006.
Fields, 53, was named Ford's chief operating officer in December 2012. He has been leading all
of Ford's global business operations and most skill teams, including product development,
manufacturing, purchasing, and marketing, sales and service.
Fields' role as COO has included leading the company's weekly Business Plan Review meeting,
which Mulally established to track the progress of the One Ford plan and to monitor the global
business and competitive environment. The Thursday meetings are credited with driving a
reliable and transparent process for running Ford's global operations and enabling Ford's senior
leadership to work closely together and act decisively on its plan.
Before serving as COO, Fields served as executive vice president and president – The
Americas since October 2005. There, he led the transformation of Ford's North American
business – turning it from record losses several years ago to record profits in each of the last
four years. Earlier, Fields guided the product-led transformation of Ford's European operations
and formerly held European luxury brands, as well as the relaunch of Ford's independent
operations in Argentina and a major restructuring and product renaissance at Mazda.
Mulally thanked the Ford team for their many contributions and accomplishments.
"It has been an honor to serve and contribute to creating a viable, profitably growing company
for the good of everyone associated with the Ford Motor Company," Mulally said. "By working
together with all of our stakeholders around the world, we now are accelerating Henry Ford's
original vision to open the highways to all mankind.
"Ford's future is so bright, and Mark – supported by an experienced and dedicated senior
leadership team – is absolutely the right leader to continue to deliver on our compelling vision,"
Mulally added.
Fields underscored his commitment to the One Ford plan, including building on the company's
unprecedented global introduction of new products, innovations and excellence.
"It is a true honor to lead this great company and this talented team into the future," Fields said.
"Under Alan's leadership, we have seen the power of One Ford and what a culture of positive
leadership and working together can accomplish. My commitment is to build on that success by
accelerating our pace of progress. All of us at Ford are committed to delivering even more of the
great products and innovations that will deliver growth and define our company going forward."
Alan Mulally to retire from Ford on July 1, after serving as president and CEO and
leading the company's One Ford global transformation since September 2006
Mark Fields named Ford president and CEO, effective July 1; Fields served as COO
since December 2012 and led Ford's transformation in North America since 2005
Long-planned, seamless CEO transition underscores strength of Ford's leadership
team and succession planning process, Executive Chairman Bill Ford says
DEARBORN, Mich., May 1, 2014 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today that Alan
Mulally has decided to retire from the company July 1 and Mark Fields will be named Ford
president and chief executive officer and elected as a member of the company's board of
directors.
"From the first day we discussed Ford's transformation eight years ago, Alan and I agreed that
developing the next generation of leaders and ensuring an orderly CEO succession were
among our highest priorities," Executive Chairman Bill Ford said. "Mark has transformed several
of our operations around the world into much stronger businesses during his 25 years at Ford.
Now, Mark is ready to lead our company into the future as CEO."
Mulally, 68, is retiring after nearly eight years leading Ford and capping a remarkable 45-year
career. Mulally has led Ford's transformation and strengthened its position as one of the world's
leading global automakers. Under Mulally and the company's One Ford plan for profitable
growth, Ford has achieved 19 consecutive quarters of profitability, developed the strongest
product lineup in Ford's history and embarked upon the company's most ambitious global
expansion in the past half century.
"Alan deservedly will be long remembered for engineering one of the most successful business
turnarounds in history," Bill Ford said. "Under Alan's leadership, Ford not only survived the
global economic crisis, it emerged as one of the world's strongest auto companies. We always
will be grateful to Alan for his leadership, compelling vision and for fostering a culture of working together that will serve our company for decades to come."
The transition in July is approximately six months earlier than previously anticipated, following
Mulally's recommendation to accelerate the timetable based on the readiness of Ford's
leadership team.
"Alan and I feel strongly that Mark and the entire leadership team are absolutely ready to lead
Ford forward, and now is the time to begin the transition," said Bill Ford, who recruited Mulally
from Boeing in 2006.
Fields, 53, was named Ford's chief operating officer in December 2012. He has been leading all
of Ford's global business operations and most skill teams, including product development,
manufacturing, purchasing, and marketing, sales and service.
Fields' role as COO has included leading the company's weekly Business Plan Review meeting,
which Mulally established to track the progress of the One Ford plan and to monitor the global
business and competitive environment. The Thursday meetings are credited with driving a
reliable and transparent process for running Ford's global operations and enabling Ford's senior
leadership to work closely together and act decisively on its plan.
Before serving as COO, Fields served as executive vice president and president – The
Americas since October 2005. There, he led the transformation of Ford's North American
business – turning it from record losses several years ago to record profits in each of the last
four years. Earlier, Fields guided the product-led transformation of Ford's European operations
and formerly held European luxury brands, as well as the relaunch of Ford's independent
operations in Argentina and a major restructuring and product renaissance at Mazda.
Mulally thanked the Ford team for their many contributions and accomplishments.
"It has been an honor to serve and contribute to creating a viable, profitably growing company
for the good of everyone associated with the Ford Motor Company," Mulally said. "By working
together with all of our stakeholders around the world, we now are accelerating Henry Ford's
original vision to open the highways to all mankind.
"Ford's future is so bright, and Mark – supported by an experienced and dedicated senior
leadership team – is absolutely the right leader to continue to deliver on our compelling vision,"
Mulally added.
Fields underscored his commitment to the One Ford plan, including building on the company's
unprecedented global introduction of new products, innovations and excellence.
"It is a true honor to lead this great company and this talented team into the future," Fields said.
"Under Alan's leadership, we have seen the power of One Ford and what a culture of positive
leadership and working together can accomplish. My commitment is to build on that success by
accelerating our pace of progress. All of us at Ford are committed to delivering even more of the
great products and innovations that will deliver growth and define our company going forward."
05-01-14, 04:47 PM
#10
Credit should also be given to the current executive chairman, William Clay Ford, Jr. for realizing that he could not do the job of running his family's company on a daily basis, which led to his hiring of Alan Mulally as president.
It takes a big man to realize your own shortcomings and stepping aside for the betterment of your family's company. Bill Ford gave up the post of president, handing it over to the outsider, Alan Mulally, who had no experience in automotive manufacturing when he took the position of president in 2006.
It takes a big man to realize your own shortcomings and stepping aside for the betterment of your family's company. Bill Ford gave up the post of president, handing it over to the outsider, Alan Mulally, who had no experience in automotive manufacturing when he took the position of president in 2006.
Mark Fields has been on the fast track for quite a while. I remember when he rose to the top at Mazda in 2002
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