Ford Motor Co promoted long-time executive Mark Fields to chief operating officer as part of a management shuffle announced on Thursday that keeps Alan Mulally as chief executive for at least two more years. The plan, which stopped short of formally naming Fields as Mulally's successor, puts Fields, age 51, in charge of the weekly business review meetings that have been one the most visible signs of cultural change at Ford since Mulally was hired in 2006.
Mulally, 67, will stay on as CEO "at least through 2014," about one year longer than analysts expected and leaving the door open for him to stay longer if needed. Fields, a 23-year Ford veteran, is widely seen as the front runner to replace Mulally, and Executive Chairman Bill Ford said he hoped the next CEO would come from within Ford's ranks.
Still he did not rule out the possibility of hiring an outsider as he did when he hired Mulally, then an executive at Boeing Co, to steer Ford's turnaround six years ago. "This isn't really a transition that we're announcing," Bill Ford told analysts and reporters on a conference call.
Ford also promoted several other executives, including Joe Hinrichs, who will take on Fields' role as head of the Americas. Hinrichs, who has been mentioned as a possible CEO candidate, now leads Ford's operations in Asia and Africa. The management changes, approved by Ford's board on October 19, are all effective on December 1.
Naming Mulally's successor is crucial for Ford because he is closely identified with the automaker's rebound and its success in avoiding the federal bailouts that rescued its US rivals in 2009, General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC. Fields has led Ford's operations in North and South America since October 2005. Bill Ford said that Fields has grown in his role over the last seven years, pointing to this week's third-quarter earnings report as proof. Ford had record 12 percent margins in North America in the third quarter.