Ford Motor Co. is reportedly close to announcing Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields as successor to Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally. Bloomberg reports Mulally, 68, will step down before the end of the year and be succeeded by Fields, 53. Citing “two people familiar with the pending announcement,” Bloomberg said Ford may announce the move as soon as May 1.
DETROIT, MI- Ford Motor Co. is reportedly close to announcing Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields as successor to Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally.
Bloomberg reports Mulally, 68, will step down before the end of the year and be succeeded by Fields, 53. Citing “two people familiar with the pending announcement,” Bloomberg said Ford may announce the move as soon as May 1.
Speculation surrounding Mulally’s exodus from Ford has been circulating for years. It escalated last year when Microsoft Corp. was reportedly interested in Mulally as its next CEO. During that time, Mulally did not squash the reports. He simply said his previously announced plans to stay at Ford through at least 2014 were unchanged.
In 2012, Ford shuffled its executive leadership to prepare for Mulally's departure, including promoting Fields to COO. Since then, analysts have heavily speculated Fields as being the favorite to succeed Mulally as CEO.
Mulally, according to Bloomberg, will not officially retire though. He is reportedly "lining up a post-Ford position that will keep him involved in corporate governance or business policy."
Mulally, 68, joined Ford from airline manufacturer Boeing Co. in 2006. He is credited for steering Ford away from bankruptcy in the late-2000s by mortgaging Ford assets, including its blue oval, for a $23.5 billion loan.
Fields, who joined Ford in 1989, was heavily in the spotlight last week during the 2014 New York International Auto Show.
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