Fired Ford CEO Fields Made $59 Million Over Past 3 Years

Cars and Drivers

Published: May 22, 2017 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 11:48 am

Mark Fields, who will be dismissed as chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) today, made a total of $59 million between 2014 and 2016. The majority of that sum came in stock awards. Fields became CEO in July of 2014.

Fields was fired due to a falling stock price, investor discontent (most recently at the annual meeting) and likely concerns of the Ford family about their fortunes. William Clay Ford Jr. is the long-time executive chairman of the company. He made $41 million over the same three-year period.

Ford’s stock has dropped over the 29% in the past two years. In that time, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) shares are off 8% and those of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) are flat. Ford’s U.S. sales have deteriorated recently. The number two U.S. car company is also well behind the leaders in the European market and China. China, the largest car market in the world, is dominated by GM and Volkswagen.

Fields also has been criticized for being slow to launch Ford’s autonomous and electric car operations. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) passed Ford in market cap recently, although its sells only 100,000 cars to Ford’s 6 million. Ford’s market cap is $43 billion, compared with Tesla’s $51 billion.

GM also has stolen the lead from Ford in the inexpensive electric car segment with its Chevy Bolt, which is priced around $35,000. The Tesla Model 3 will carry a similar price. There are nearly 400,000 preorders for the upcoming Tesla mid-market car.

There is some argument that William Clay Ford Jr. deserves a measure of responsibility for Ford’s troubles. He has been executive chairman since 1998 and served as CEO from 2001 to 2006. Ford’s best decision may be his hiring of Alan Mulally, a former Boeing executive who was considered Ford’s best CEO in decades. Mulally took over in 2006.

Ford’s new CEO will be Jim Hackett, a former head of Steelcase, who now runs Ford’s autonomous car unit. The mess Fields leaves behind is large enough that Hackett will have his hands full.

The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)

If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.

Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.