Mulally, who is 68 years old, has been Ford’s CEO for eight years and is generally credited with turning the company around and saving Ford from the effects of the recession and drop in market share suffered by other American automakers in 2009. Ford’s share price proves his value — it is up more than 200% in the past five years. His reputation as one of the great car executives of the past several decades remains intact, even though the share price has dropped about 14% from its peak of $18.65 in late 2011.
According to the announcement from Ford, Mulally’s retirement is coming six months earlier than previously anticipated after Mulally recommended an acceleration of the timetable “based on the readiness of Ford’s leadership team.” The company might have added that shareholders are probably ready as well, because Ford’s outlook for 2014 is not as rosy as many had hoped.
Eric Ibarra, a senior industry analyst at Kelley Blue Book, summed up the transition:
Due to Mark Fields’ age [53], which is youthful for an automotive CEO, he is poised to lead the company for a long time. He showed his brilliance in his plan to turn Ford around, created before Alan Mulally arrived, and mostly accepted by Alan and the rest of Ford as the right plan to implement. Mulally’s genius was in anticipating the dramatic falloff in sales that followed the financial crisis of 2008, sparing Ford the indignity of having to declare bankruptcy. For this reason alone, Mulally has secured his rightful place in Ford’s pantheon of visionary leaders, with a space next to him reserved for Fields to earn.
Ford’s stock was down about 0.6% in premarket trading Thursday to $16.06, after closing on Wednesday at $16.15 in a 52-week range of $13.35 to $18.02.
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