|
 Mulally, the 68-year-old executive credited with reviving Ford's
fortunes since taking its helm in 2006, will step down before the
end of the year, said the person, who asked not to be identified
discussing the company's plans. Fields, 53, was named COO in
December 2012 and has been seen as Mulally's successor.
"It's really close," the person said. Bloomberg earlier reported
that Ford may make an announcement as early as May 1. Ford's annual
meeting in Delaware is scheduled for May 8.
A Ford spokeswoman declined to comment.
"We do take succession planning very seriously," Ford spokeswoman
Susan Krusel said. "We do have succession plans in place for all of
our key leadership positions, but for competitive reasons we do not
discuss them."
Mulally is far from retiring and has long been exploring other
high-profile positions to follow his Ford tenure. There was talk
starting last year that he would take the top job at Microsoft <MSFT.O>,
a position that eventually went to Satya Nadella. In 2012, he
discussed a role in the Obama administration, but ultimately
committed to two more years at Ford.
Analysts said Fields will inherit a much stronger company than
Mulally did, one with a highly profitable North American operation
underpinned by the top-selling F-150 large pickup truck; growing
share of China auto market, the world's largest; and a nascent
recovery in Europe. Since Mulally took over as CEO, Ford's stock
price has almost doubled.
Execution will be the name of the game for Mark Fields, whereas
recovery and transformation were the biggest challenges Mulally
faced on Day One," Gabelli & Co analyst Brian Sponheimer said.
"Fields is inheriting a company in much better shape than when Alan
Mulally took over. It's a completely transformed company,"
Sponheimer added, referring to the company's shift to more global
vehicle platforms to save money and speed product development. "A
lot of the headaches that Alan Mulally had to handle, including the
recession in 2008 and 2009, are behind him."
Last December, Ford warned that the cost of launching new vehicles
and a deteriorating Venezuelan economy would dent 2014 profits,
sending its stock to its biggest one-day percentage drop in more
than two years. This year, Ford is launching a record 23 global
products, including a new version of the lucrative F-150.
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Those launches also will be a test for Fields, who has spent the
last year focusing on improving quality.
In January, Mulally ended speculation that he was in the running for
the top job at software giant Microsoft and said he would remain at
Ford at least this year. He emphasized during the Detroit auto show
that month that he remained deeply engaged in Ford's day-to-day
operations as well as setting long-term strategy.
However, sources previously said it was unlikely Mulally would stay
through 2014 and was looking for another high-profile job. Ford's
board was frustrated by Mulally's courtship of Microsoft, the
sources said.
Mulally spurred a cultural change that helped the company take
quicker action and make bolder bets, analysts, executives and other
industry observers have said. His push helped the automaker avoid
the federal bailouts required by General Motors Co <GM.N> and
Chrysler Group LLC <FIA.MI>.
One such risk is Ford's overhaul of its top-selling F-150 truck,
unveiled in January. The truck's body is made almost entirely out of
an aluminum alloy, which Ford bets will widen its lead over rivals
General Motors Co <GM.N> and Chrysler Group LLC <FIA.MI> in the
lucrative segment.
In late 2012, Ford first announced that Mulally would remain at Ford
until at least the end of 2014. This was part of a series of changes
that included the promotion of Fields to COO.
As COO, Fields runs Ford's weekly "business plan review" and manages
day-to-day operations.
An exit by Mulally in 2014 would mark the second high-profile
changeover in the CEO position at an American automaker as Mary
Barra took over at GM in January. She has since been dealing with
the fallout from defective ignition switches linked to at least 13
deaths.
(Additional reporting by Rohit T. K. in Bangalore;
editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Richard Chang and Andrew Hay)
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