Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) announced Thursday morning that its present Chief Executive Officer, Alan R. Mulally, will be stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by Mark Fields effective July 1.
Aside from replacing Mulally, 68, as CEO, the 53-year-old Fields will also serve as President of Ford Motor Co., and will be elected as a member of Ford’s board of directors upon the incumbent chief executive’s retirement. In a prepared statement, Ford Executive Chairman William C. (Bill) Ford Jr. talked about the upcoming transition to a new chief executive, highlighting Fields’ achievements as a Ford executive. “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,” he 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 will be stepping down to retire following a 45-year career, including the last eight as Ford’s CEO. He was instrumental in helping Ford recover from some tough times following the global economic recession, and has also pushed Ford to remain as one of the world’s most popular and successful automakers. Thanks to Mullaly’s One Ford initiative, the company has been “in the black”, or achieved profitability for 19 straight quarters, and has also offered consumers with what is arguably the most impressive roster of Ford vehicles in the company’s long and proud history.
“Alan deservedly will be long remembered for engineering one of the most successful business turnarounds in history,” added Bill Ford as he talked about Mulally’s remarkable achievement of helping Ford weather the storms of the Great Recession. “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.”
As for Mullaly’s replacement, Fields was named Chief Operating Officer of Ford in December 2012. As COO, Fields’ job description included presiding over Ford’s weekly Business Plan Review meetings, which serve as a weekly update of sorts to determine the progress of the above mentioned One Ford initiative, and to discuss the latest developments in the automotive industry and the broader global business scene. Prior to becoming COO, Fields was executive vice president and president of Ford’s Americas arm from October 2005 to December 2012. This was where he had helped Ford’s North American business recover from record losses during the recession, and generate record profits in each of the most recent four years. He had also served as the architect of Ford’s turnaround in the European market, and helped the carmaker re-launch its operations in Argentina, all before he headed The Americas division.
“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,” read a statement from Mulally, as he thanked his team for the company’s success. “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.”