mrballsonya Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 link. http://www.quote.com/qc/news/story.aspx?sy...03_PRN_82810038 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Hm. Don't know much about the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 WOW .... I wonder whether Mark is pissed. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 With ops experienced VPs (Fields, Stevens, et al), this may be a smart move. However, Ford cannot have a let's do what we did at Boeing CEO, that's a recipe for disaster. WOW .... I wonder whether Mark is pissed. Igor Why? Because he thought that ten months on the job as CEO Americas made him qualified to run the whole show? I doubt that very much. This guy's 61, will not be around for years and years, and Fields needs to really prove himself before he gets the CEO slot pretty much everyone has already assigned him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluecon Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Looks like Bill Ford has done something right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Why? Because he thought that ten months on the job as CEO Americas made him qualified to run the whole show? I doubt that very much. This guy's 61, will not be around for years and years, and Fields needs to really prove himself before he gets the CEO slot pretty much everyone has already assigned him. you know what i meant .. Mark was often named as the guy that would take over after Bill - Ford was letting him grow to more and more important roles and letting him prove himself ... No he was not supposed to be CEO now .. but if they have a new one now, it is likely there will not be a change for years to come - unless this guy fails... You are getting a little defensive lately. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 "but if they have a new one now, it is likely there will not be a change for years to come" Unlikely past 65, which gives him 4 years, which is about right for Fields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 you know what i meant .. Mark was often named as the guy that would take over after Bill - Ford was letting him grow to more and more important roles and letting him prove himself ... No he was not supposed to be CEO now .. but if they have a new one now, it is likely there will not be a change for years to come - unless this guy fails... You are getting a little defensive lately. Igor New guy's 61. How long will he be there? Fields, I am sure, is more interested in seeing Ford NA fixed than in advancing his own career. As CEO, he will not be able to closely supervise that project, and having been pulled prematurely out of restructurings at both Mazda and PAG, I'm sure he'd like to actually see one all the way through. As to being defensive, sorry, the FUD-o-meter on this board has been pegged at redline for the last month straight. Seems like the board's full of rejectionists who will probably come out of the woodwork to bellyache about this decision because it didn't involve the loss of any of Bill Ford's limbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SysEng Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 ... the board's full of rejectionists who will probably come out of the woodwork to bellyache about this decision because it didn't involve the loss of any of Bill Ford's limbs. Well, the new guy definitely meets my mandatory requirement for the job " experience in re-floating the :titanic: ". I find it odd that an aviation man would even bother with Detroit, but hey this is definitely a "gift horse" and much much better than what was going on. But, we'll see... Now about drawing and quartering W.C.F.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingBender Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 (edited) I have worked at Boeing for 20 years now, and have watched Alan Mulally rise through the executive ranks over the years. He was chief engineer on the 777 progam in the early 90's, and was instrumental in the success of that airplane program. He is very, very highly regarded in this company, and I think people here will consider it a loss, regardless of the capabilities of his successor. Boeing has had a unique corporate officer arrangement in recent years. The company CEO is Jim McNerney, who was brought in from outside (3M), although he had previous experience in the airplane industry with one of Boeing's major suppliers of jet engines, General Electric. But we also have individual CEO's for the military and commercial sides of the company; Mulally was CEO of the commercial division. Mulally was considered for the top corporate spot last year, but Boeing brought in McNerney instead. At the time there was some question whether Mulally would stay on. We may find out more in the coming days whether Ford sent their headhunters to pound on Mulally's door, or whether he went looking for them. Regardless, I honestly believe Ford has scored a major coup in pulling him away from Boeing. If Mulally can't pull Ford out of the hole it's in, then truly nobody can. And that is not hyperbole. To give you an idea of the man as a person, I have a story to relate. Last year my son, who was then 8 years old, sent an e-mail to Alan Mulally asking him if he could visit for his birthday. My boy is quite possibly the world's biggest Boeing fan ever. Anyway, Mulally actually carved out a 30 minute block in his schedule to meet my son! We went to Commercial HQ and visited Mulally in his office/conference suite. My son showed him his airplane drawings, talked airplanes, and got the tour. Mulally even gave him the display models from the top of his TV set! He politely excused himself for a couple of minutes to take a call from Doug Steenland, CEO of Northwest Airlines, and then returned to view more of my son's drawings. He is clearly comfortable around children, and he comes off as a real class act. Bottom line: bravo, Ford! Edited September 5, 2006 by WingBender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolita Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 (edited) New guy's 61. How long will he be there? Fields, I am sure, is more interested in seeing Ford NA fixed than in advancing his own career. As CEO, he will not be able to closely supervise that project, and having been pulled prematurely out of restructurings at both Mazda and PAG, I'm sure he'd like to actually see one all the way through. As to being defensive, sorry, the FUD-o-meter on this board has been pegged at redline for the last month straight. Seems like the board's full of rejectionists who will probably come out of the woodwork to bellyache about this decision because it didn't involve the loss of any of Bill Ford's limbs. I agree. I think this is more of a political move to help relieve the tension of having Bill run the show and the negative press related to him. The record of this new guy is pretty impressive and I am sure he wil bring in valuable experience gained at Boeing. I wonder where this leaves Ford's other options such us Ghosn and the Renault-Nissan speculations. Edited September 5, 2006 by bolita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 If this guy spent a half an hour with a kid, he's definitely a better choice than Ghosn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-o Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Did we ever hear about this from the_wizard...or was he silent about this small change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolita Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 If this guy spent a half an hour with a kid, he's definitely a better choice than Ghosn. Again, I agree. This guy seems like a very politically correct choice for Ford. Seems like he will be able to generate support from in and outside the company IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Ah, Ghosn. The auto media (minus autoextremist, who I'm finding more relevant lately) loves him the way they love DCX and Toyota. Is anyone calling for his head with Nissan tanking of late? Not really. Is the auto media calling for Toyota's head over their recent spate of safety-related recalls? Not really. If nothing else, Ghosn should be touted as the man that taught Nissan customers the meaning of "torque steer". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr511scj Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Good post! But will Mulally get "Bunkied" by Mark Fields's crew or other FoMoCo lifers who don't worship Boeing? Good advice for Mulally at http://speedzzter.blogspot.com/2006/09/ala...rd-at-ford.html Maybe he'll carve out five minutes to read it . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g48150 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 If I was ANYONE in Product Development, I'd be updating my resume if I were you. This guy didn't used to build cars, he built mil/aero products, like I used to build tanks. And you're 100% wrong Rich, Tanks are WAY harder to build than cars, have you ever heard of Mil-Spec and Defense Acquisition practices? I thought not... Good Old Boys Network --> :rip: Its all over now, Change or Die, they took the Change... The Chinese can't compete with competent systems design, look for a different "GPDS" around the next 12-18 months. This is akin to HFII taking the Whiz Kids in post-WWII. This is the "Army of One" I keep talking about... Five years from now, Ford WILL be the #1 engineering place to be once again, thank god I'm getting out now!!! I can't wait to come back!!! In the meantime, yeah, anyone with engineer in their title, or a direct supervisor of anyone with engineer in their title, yeah, get out now, cause white collar separation is a bitch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one2gamble Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 whats with this obsession with ghosn....hes simply not impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemiman Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Who is Lemon gonna cry about now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 So if the guys from Boeing, does this mean there's hope that Ford's will be quicker now ? I dont know anything about the guy, but if Ford own family member couldn't do much, who's to say this one will. Whatever he needs to do, he needs to do quickly ...we'll see what his moves will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebritt Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Youhave to look at the bright side....Bill will be out lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-o Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Has anyone heard anything from the_wizard? Did he decide to leave us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Here's something important: Apparently Mullaly strongly adheres to the stringent ideas of Toyota Total Quality. Mr. Mulally needs no refresher course on Ford, whose ideas he used as he overhauled Boeing’s commercial airplane division. In particular, he studied the development of the Ford Taurus, a car designed in the mid-1980’s to compete with offerings by Toyota and Honda. In addition, Mr. Mulally is a student of the Toyota production system, which emphasizes the elimination of waste, continuous improvement and involving workers in fixing problems on the assembly line. Mr. Mulally applied those lessons as he streamlined Boeing, cutting product lines from 14 to 4. Additionally, apparently Mullaly already knows the head of the UAW, so that may be helpful. Learn more: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/business...ml?pagewanted=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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