Who Would Lead Ford After Alan Mulally?
DEARBORN (WWJ) - Ford is denying reports that it's begun the process of choosing a new CEO.
The current CEO, Alan Mulally, has finessed questions about how long he plans to stay in the job. But, he's 66 years old, and all indications are that he will retire in the next few years.
The Wall Street Journal, says the search for a replacement has been narrowed to four executives, two insiders, one outsider, and one who fits into both categories.
They include:
- Mark Fields: Ford president of the Americas. He's been honored for turning down Ford's core North American operations.
- Joe Hinrichs: President, Ford Asia. In his previous operations, Hinrichs greatly improved Ford's manufacturing operations.
- John Krafcik: CEO, Hyundai North America: Given great marks for improving Hyundai's image, and sales in the U.S.
- Phil Martens: CEO, Novelis Inc. While he currently runs an aluminum products maker, Martens worked his way up the ranks at Ford to become VP of product development, before exiting the company.
Alan Mulally has been with Ford since 2006, after being lured away from Boing. He's widely credited for turning the company around, and any talk of a replacement could have an impact on Ford's image with the public and its stock price.
When Mulally joined Ford, the company was losing billions of dollars each year. Ford recently posted its 10th consecutive quarterly profit.
Ford was also the only one of the domestic automakers to avoid filing for bankruptcy in 2009.
In the past, Ford executive chairman Bill Ford has said that he'd like to replace Mulally from within.
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