Ford’s board has reportedly discussed a succession plan for its Chief Executive Officer, Alan Mulally. However, the meeting ended without a resolution being announced by the board of directors, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with these discussions.
According to one of the sources, the company’s board is preparing to promote Mark Fields, who is currently President of the Americas, to the post of Chief Operating Officer. This is part of the OEM’s plan to have him eventually succeed Mulally.
The report, citing Adam Jonas, an analyst with Morgan Stanley in New York, said the company’s investors are eager for knowledge of the timetable and details of Ford’s succession plan for Mulally. This uncertainty is taking a toll on Ford’s stock.
“I don’t think it’s helping. People just generally expect that because Mulally is at retirement age that he will leave soon. Mark Fields is overwhelmingly seen as the successor,” Bloomberg quotes Jonas as saying in an interview.
Mulally is expected to step down around the end of 2013, although he has not clarified any date to the company’s board.
“We do not comment on speculation about personnel actions. Ford takes succession planning very seriously, and we have succession plans in place for each of our key leadership positions,” the report cites Jay Cooney, a Ford spokesman, as saying in an email.
In September, however, Mulally said he did not intend to retire anytime soon. “My plan is to continue to serve as the CEO of Ford … I’m really clarifying that now. If I had any plans to do anything differently, I’d share it with everybody,” Bloomberg reported him as saying at the time.
