And Then There Were 4: Search for Mulally's (Ford CEO) Successor Rolls On

When former Boeing Chairman Alan Mulally rode into the Detroit suburb of Dearborn -- arguably the most insular company town in a region of company towns -- just over five years ago, the welcome wagon barely turned a wheel. Although Mulally was virtually hand-picked by William Clay “my-name's-on-the-building-and-your-paycheck” Ford Jr. -- after both Dieter Zetsche of Daimler/Chrysler and Carlos Ghosn of Renault/Nissan declined -- many Ford employees and industry insiders responded to the news with the kind of thinly veiled skepticism usually reserved for late-night television infomercials.   Now, just a few years after Mulally successfully streamlined Ford's product lineup, stabilized a previously schizophrenic business plan and magically transformed red numbers into black, people on both sides of the Blue Oval have begun speculating on who could possibly be a worthy successor to their beloved Mulally's throne.

Despite almost universal appreciation of Mulally's unquestionable talent and prosperous tenure, there will undoubtedly come a day when Ford needs to name a successor -- and insiders say jockeying for the position has already begun. Inside Ford, four contenders with a vested interest in putting their name on the CEO's office door have have bubbled to the top:

• Joe Hinrichs, 45, group vice president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa.
• Jim Farley, 49, group vice president of global marketing, sales and service.
• Mark Fields, 50, president of the Americas.
• Lewis Booth, chief financial officer, 63.
  

Word on the street (read: Internet) is that Fields is the front-runner. If Mulally retires sooner than expected, Booth could hold down the fort while Ford looks for a longer-term candidate. Farley, who famously claimed the Mustang Boss 302 would “wind up on YouTube doing something illegal,” surely has the enthusiast vote. Reportedly, some higher-ups think the outspoken Farley doesn't have enough experience in areas outside marketing and sales. That leaves relative youngster John Hinrichs, a well-liked contender who has been making his bones in Asia, attempting to gain market share on competitors in the region. Of course, hitting a few home runs between now and Mulally's departure would really provide some momentum for his campaign.

But wait -- who says Mulally is leaving any time soon? He is just 66, so the scythe-wielding cloaked one is hardly at his door; Ronald Reagan remained CEO of the world well into his late 70s. And, hot on the heels of pulling off what Time magazine called "the biggest business turnaround of the Great Recession," Mullaly has gone on the record as saying he won't leave as long as he's still having “fun.” Bill Ford has joked he'd let him stay on till he's 80 -- which as any aging baby boomer will tell you is the new 40. Or 30. Or something.

Interestingly, a rogue faction (bringbackalan.com) has materialized, dedicated to bringing Mulally back to Boeing for one last spin around the dance floor before he hangs up his corporate dancing shoes for good. The man certainly has no shortage of options.

But here's the thing: Corporate culture has a funny way of creating self-fulfilling prophecies. Thoughts aired in secrecy often become truths. As far back as 2008, when Joe Laymon, Ford's former vice president for human resources, took the liberty of semipublicly naming several possible replacements, finding Mulally's replacement has become a “thing” at Ford. Whispers of “so and so is the next in line,” have begin to fill the hallways; suddenly, expectations and internal politicking exist where previously there were none. Optimism and hopes often get crushed in the drudgery of reality.

Going high and wide by selecting outsider Mulally for the job back in '05 -- whether by true genius or sheer dumb luck -- gave Ford the freedom to focus on the job at hand, sidestepping much of the perfunctory glad-handing and blatant careerism that comes with doing business in a company town.

When Mulally does step down, let's hope the decision makers at Ford recall how painful it is to be on the bottom and remember the sage advice given at the start of those all-important, future-determining college entrance exams: Choose wisely.

Source: Exaust Notes