Ford's comeback makes Mulally a star at Detroit Show

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, whose company gained market share in the U.S. last year while his domestic rivals went bankrupt, is the toast of the North American International Auto Show this week.

At the opening press conference Jan. 11, Mulally walked onto a stage in Detroit's Cobo Arena, where the rock band Kiss recorded a live album in 1975. On a screen above him, a globe covered with positive Ford headlines from 2009 spun while Mulally spoke of Ford's "growth in every region around the world." The audience filling the red vinyl seats roared.

Ford swept the show's awards for car and truck of the year and unveiled the Focus compact. The car, which Mulally plans to sell worldwide, attracted throngs of media and auto executives. At Ford's 54,000-square-foot exhibit, which covers almost a quarter of the convention floor, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi huddled with Mulally amid red and silver Focus models, while a velvet rope kept reporters at bay.

"We're not talking about just surviving," Mulally said during a Jan. 11 filet mignon dinner with reporters at the MGM Grand Detroit casino. "I came to Ford to help turn around a global and American icon."

Mulally's star turn comes after a year of moves that set Ford apart from its domestic rivals -- avoiding a bankruptcy and federal bailout. The company began the month by posting its first annual gain in U.S. market share since 1995 and the best sales growth in December among its peers.

'Relentless'

Mulally, 64, came to Ford after a 37-year career at Boeing Co., where he managed development of the 787 Dreamliner. When asked at the MGM Grand dinner about watching the wide-bodied jet's televised maiden flight last month, Mulally couldn't speak for a bit and his eyes filled with tears.

"It's like ingenuity at its finest," he said, likening the 787 project to Ford's redesign of the Taurus and Fusion sedans.

"He's making good progress on the products; there's a lot of buzz about the Focus," said Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of researcher Edmunds.com of Santa Monica, California. "Mulally is relentless. He's got a laser-sharp focus on a simple vision that he just drills into the organization."