Ford Motor Co. today officially announced Mark Fields will replace Alan Mulally as president and CEO. Fields, Ford chief operating officer, will replace Mulally starting July 1.
DEARBORN, MI- Ford Motor Co. today officially announced that Mark Fields will replace Alan Mulally as president and CEO.
Fields, Ford's chief operating officer, will replace Mulally starting July 1.
“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,” said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, in a statement. “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.”
Ford says the transition 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.
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, 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, 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.
“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’ 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.
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