Alan Mulally, who was hired as CEO of Ford in September 2006, had not engineered, designed, or built any cars. He came from Boeing. After joining Ford, he devised a plan that identified specific goals for the company, created a process that moved it toward those goals, and installed a management system to make sure the company reaches those goals. Mulally demands weekly, sometimes daily, updates. ?oAlan’s style is pretty relentless,?? says chief financial officer Lewis Booth, a 31-year Ford veteran. ?oHe says, ?~If this is the reality, what are we going to do about it?’ not ?~We’re going to work our way through it.’?? Mulally’s leadership has resulted in Ford making some strategic moves. When Mulally arrived in September 2006, Ford was known mainly for its pickup trucks and the Mustang.
The company was on the verge of financial collapse. It lost $12.6 billion in 2006 and another $2.7 billion in 2007. Sensing a recession in 2006, Mulally decided to borrow $23 billion against Ford’s assets. Taking on more debt wasn’t easy, but the extra cash meant that Ford could say no to government loans when sales declined in 2008 and 2009. He wants Ford to maintain its independence.