Ford’s Executive Chairman Bill Ford likes to joke that President and CEO Alan Mulally, who saved his great-grandfather’s auto company from the brink of ruin and has become a beloved and respected figure at Ford, won’t be leaving anytime soon.
“It’s a 25-year contract,” Ford gleefully told the Free Press in March.
By all accounts, Mulally, known for his laser-like focus and folksy, upbeat attitude, also enjoys working at Ford.
After three years of hard work, Mulally’s “One Ford” — as he likes to call it — has posted a profit of $1.83 billion through Sept. 30 and earned respect for building stylish, high-tech and high-quality cars.
“I really love it here,” Mulally said in October.
But at 64, Mulally isn’t likely to stay at Ford for decades.
Many have suggested that Mulally, who was passed over for the CEO job at Boeing Co. before joining Ford in 2006, should be rehired to fix the airline company where he worked for 37 years.
Boeing has repeatedly delayed the launch of its 787 Dreamliner and posted a recent quarterly loss.
What’s more, Mulally has been dedicated to grooming future leaders at Ford, which was accused of having a light bench before he arrived.
Mark Fields, 48, Ford’s president of the Americas, is widely viewed as the front-runner to succeed Mulally.
But Ford has other quality candidates, including Jim Farley, the former Toyota executive leading Ford’s global marketing and operations in Canada, Mexico and South America, and Joe Hinrichs, who is set to run Ford’s Asia division starting Dec. 1.
The men who would run Ford
Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, is viewed as the front-runner to succeed Mulally, experts say Ford has developed a talented roster of executives that could be ready for the top leadership position soon.
Mulally, 64, who has gained the respect of the auto industry since arriving at Ford in 2006, has shown no signs that he expects to leave soon — and virtually nobody wants to see him go.
“We’d like Mr. Mulally to stick around as long as he would like,” said Beau Boeckmann, vice president of California auto dealer Galpin Motors, one of the largest Ford dealers in the nation. “He’s doing just a spectacular job.”
But someday, Mulally will go — and who will take his place could determine whether the changes he has installed at Ford to promote teamwork around the world will live on.
“There are a lot of good options,” Aaron Bragman, an automotive analyst for IHS Global Insight, told the Free Press.
That’s a change from before Mulally came to Ford. Years of turnover in the executive suite — a result of the company’s dog-eat-dog corporate culture and turnaround plans that repeatedly shed executives — led to a view that Ford had a weak bench.
But today, there are at least four viable internal contenders, according to analysts, dealers and insiders: Fields, Jim Farley, Joe Hinrichs and Lewis Booth. All but Booth are in their 40s and could have long careers leading Ford into the future.
Having that many contenders can serve as both an asset and a liability, said John Challenger, CEO of consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“If there is a clear-cut successor, there is not the risk of politicking,” Challenger said.
But Fields, who has worked at Ford for 20 years, told the Free Press on Wednesday that the “parlor games of the past” have ended as a result of Mulally’s collegial, team-oriented approach.
“We not only committed to a plan, but committed to each other,” he said.
