Bill Ford: Alan Mulally can stay for as long as he would like

Alan Mulally, the man credited with being the catalyst behind Ford’s recent turnaround, has been invited to stay on with the company for as long as he wants.

“I want Alan to stay as long as he would like to stay and hopefully that is quite a while,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. told Reuters.

The 64 year old Mulally joined Ford after leaving airplane manufacturer Boeing in September of 2006. He was charged with reviving a failed turnaround effort, as Ford was then the lowest ranking Detroit automaker.

Mulally stands alone as a ‘Big Three’ CEO who weathered the storm of the recent government bailouts, and remains on his position.

Mullally is credited with having stripped away layers upon layers of un-needed management, streamlining the Ford pocess, and borrowing the $23 billion needed in late 2006 to implement his turnaround plan, and hopes to have Ford profitable (on a year by year basis) by 2011.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Reuters