Alan Mulally facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alan Mulally
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Mulally in 2013
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Alan Roger Mulally
August 4, 1945 Oakland, California, U.S.
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| Spouse(s) | Nicki Mulally |
| Children | 5 |
Alan Roger Mulally (born August 4, 1945) is an American aerospace engineer and business executive. He is known for leading two major companies. He was the CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes from 1998 to 2006. After that, he became the president and CEO of the Ford Motor Company from 2006 to 2014.
Mulally started his career at Boeing in 1969 as an engineer. Many people say he helped Boeing become strong again against its competitor, Airbus, in the mid-2000s. He is also widely praised for helping Ford Motor Company during the Great Recession. This was a tough time when other American car companies went bankrupt and needed government help. Ford, under Mulally, did not.
His achievements at Ford are written about in the book American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company. In 2014, he joined the Board of Directors of Google. In 2015, Mulally was honored in the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.
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Early Life and Learning
Mulally was born in Oakland, California, in 1945. His parents met at a USO dance. He grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, his mother's hometown. He was a member of Plymouth Congregational Church. He said that the minister, Rev. Dale Turner, was a great inspiration to him. Mulally liked to sit at the front of the church to learn how the minister influenced people. At 17, he was inspired by President John F. Kennedy's challenge to send a person to the moon.
His Education
Mulally went to the University of Kansas, just like his mother. He earned two degrees there: a Bachelor of Science (1968) and a Master of Science (1969). Both degrees were in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He was also part of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Later, in 1982, he earned another Master's degree in Management from MIT.
His Career Journey
Working at Boeing
Boeing hired Mulally right after he finished college in 1969. He worked as an engineer and in program management roles. He helped with many famous Boeing planes, including the Boeing 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, and Boeing 777. He led the team that designed the cockpit for the 757/767 planes. This design was very new because it had the first all-digital flight deck in a commercial aircraft. It also allowed two pilots to fly long-range planes and made it easier for pilots to fly both the 757 and 767.
He later became the vice president of Engineering for Boeing's commercial airplane group. He was known for promoting a "Working Together" idea, especially during the 777 program. In 1994, Mulally was promoted to senior vice president of Airplane Development. He was in charge of all airplane development, flight tests, and getting planes approved. In 1997, Mulally became the president of Boeing Information, Space & Defense Systems. He held this job until 1998 when he became president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. He also took on CEO duties in 2001.
For his work at Boeing, Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine named him "Person of the Year" in 2006.
Leading Ford Motor Company
A former Ford CEO suggested Mulally for the top job at Ford. On September 5, 2006, Mulally became the president and CEO of Ford Motor Company. He took over from Bill Ford, who became the executive chairman.
One of Mulally's first decisions at Ford was to bring back the Taurus car name. He didn't understand why the company had stopped making the Taurus, as it used to be one of Ford's best-selling cars.
Mulally took charge of Ford's "The Way Forward" plan. This plan aimed to fix Ford's big financial losses and shrinking share of the car market. His efforts to cut costs helped the company make a profit for the first time in two years. Ford also stopped paying dividends (money to shareholders) for a while.
In 2006, Mulally led Ford to borrow a huge amount of money, about $23.6 billion. Ford used its assets (like factories and buildings) as collateral for the loan. Mulally said he wanted to use this money to make big changes and have "a cushion" for a recession. At the time, this loan seemed like a desperate move. However, it is now seen as a smart decision that helped Ford stay financially stable. This was especially true when other car companies, General Motors and Chrysler, went bankrupt during the automotive industry crisis of 2008–2009.
Ford was the only one of the "Detroit Three" carmakers that did not need a government loan. Mulally did speak to the United States Congress to support government loans for GM and Chrysler. He explained how their collapse could hurt the economy and other car makers. In 2009, Ford chairman Bill Ford said that Mulally was "the right choice" for CEO.
In 2007, Mulally oversaw the sale of Jaguar Cars and Land Rover to Tata Motors, an Indian company. Mulally said he had "no regrets" about selling these brands. He wanted Ford to focus on its main Ford brand. Ford received $2.3 billion from the sale. Mulally also sold off Aston Martin and Volvo Cars. He also reduced Ford's ownership in Mazda.
In 2008, during a difficult economic time, Ford announced that Mulally's salary would be cut to $1 per year if Ford received government loans. During meetings about government loans, he and other car leaders were criticized for flying in corporate jets. After that, Mulally traveled from Detroit to Washington in a Ford-made hybrid electric vehicle. He also sold almost all of the company's corporate jets.
Because of his achievements at Ford, Time magazine included him in its 2009 list of the 100 most influential people. In 2011, Mulally was named "Person of the Year" by the Financial Times and "CEO of the Year" by Chief Executive magazine. He also received an Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to new ideas.
In 2012, the University of Kansas gave Mulally an honorary degree. This was to recognize his important contributions to engineering and the transportation industry. Ford announced in 2012 that Mulally would stay with the company until at least 2014. He eventually retired on July 1, 2014, and Mark Fields took over as CEO.
After Ford
After leaving Ford, Mulally joined the Board of Directors of Google (now Alphabet) in July 2014. In April 2016, he became a senior fellow at Seattle University's Albers School of Business.
His Management Style
Mulally worked with the United Automobile Workers union to create four new agreements. These agreements helped lower labor costs for Ford. He lived very close to Ford's main office in Dearborn, Michigan. Every Thursday at 7 a.m., he held a "Business Plan Review" meeting with Ford's executives. At one meeting with employees, Mulally said, "We have been going out of business for 40 years." He repeated this message to other employee groups to show the seriousness of the situation.
How He Stayed Energized
The company McKinsey & Company once asked Mulally how he kept his mental and physical energy up. He replied that people often talk about managing their time, but you also need to manage your energy. He said to ask yourself, "What gives me energy?" This could be family, exercise, or spiritual well-being. He shared that his family had a weekly "family BPR" (Business Plan Review) meeting. In this meeting, they would discuss what they needed to do and how to support each other through the week. He called it an important "process step."
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