Ford not looking outside company for successor to Mulally

The Detroit News (Dearborn, US) - Ford Motor Co. is not actively searching outside the company for a successor to CEO Alan Mulally, but succession planning is an important and ongoing effort, a top executive said Monday.

"Throughout our company, it is very important that we develop succession plans in all levels of the company," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas.

"It's something we're all very committed to, and there will be great opportunities within Ford," said Fields who is among the candidates positioned to succeed Mulally in the next couple years.

There has been much media speculation recently about the company's long-term management plans even though "Alan is not going anywhere anytime too soon," Fields said in an interview.

Mulally, who has dodged questions about his retirement plans, guided Ford through layoffs and cutbacks as part of a massive restructuring. He is credited with steering Ford through the sales downturn without government assistance, despite a huge debt load and commitment to global products.

On Friday, the efforts culminated in the board decision to restore dividends in March.

The decision to start paying dividends again "tells the world we're on plan as a company to deliver out mid-decade outlook," said Fields at an event to celebrate the F-150 being named 2012 Motor Trend Truck of the Year.

Restoring dividends "gives a lot of encouragement to our employees, our stockholders and our communities that we're going to stay focused and move the business forward," Fields said.

He said Ford does not want to be in a position to suspend the payments ever again. "We want to be predictable for our stockholders."

The automaker also hopes ratings agencies will reward efforts to pay down debt by returning Ford to investment grade. Such a move would reduce borrowing costs, attract more investors and reflect pride in the company's achievements under Mulally's five-year stewardship.

"When that time comes to get our investment grade back, it will be nice to expunge the word 'junk' that has been used to describe our debt," Fields said.

Like the restoration of dividends, investment-grade status is a milestone that will reinforce the company's plan to return to profitable growth, he said.

And it all starts and ends with key products like the F-150. "We love that kind of cargo in the back of an F-150," said Fields, referring to the trophy perched in the bed of a truck in an auditorium filled with employees at World Headquarters.

Derrick Kuzak, head of global product development, said the award is an endorsement of the truck strategy, noting that when the F-150 won Truck of the Year three years ago, work was already under way on the EcoBoost version that garnered the 2012 accolade.

Kuzak would not say what is in the works for three years from now.