Mark Fields Becomes New CEO of Ford

The deal is complete, Ford Named Mark Fields to replace Alan Mulally as CEO starting July 1st.  Fields, currently Ford’s chief operating officer, had long been seen as Mulally’s heir apparent. He was centre stage at this year’s Detroit auto show unveiling the aluminium model of Ford’s best-selling F-150 pickup and a limited edition Mustang GT.

Fields, 53, is a Harvard Business School graduate who joined Ford in 1989 and ran its North American operations through the depth of the recession. Ford was the only major US automaker not to file for bankruptcy.

Mulally, 68, a long-time Boeing executive, was hired by Ford in 2006 to turn around a company making massive losses and facing declining market share. He slashed costs and mortgaged all of Ford’s assets in a move that allowed the company to steer clear of bankruptcy and government-ownership.

Fields becomes the second insider in recent months to take over one of the big American auto manufacturers. Last December General Motors named Mary Barra as its new chief executive, succeeding Dan Akerson, a turnaround specialist appointed by the US Treasury.  Will Fields be able to complete the turn around that Mulally started, we will have to wait and see.

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