The $18 million-dollar man
Is Ford CEO Alan Mulally worth $18 million? According to Ford Motor Company’s Proxy statement filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CEO Allan Mulally’s total compensation for 2009 was $18 million, including stock options and grants.
If you ask Ford Motor Company employees and retirees if Mually deserves $18 million, the answer to that question is a quiet “yes.”
Employees and retirees have been through a lot over the past few years.
Thousands of Ford employees lost their jobs through a succession of layoffs and plant closings. They have witnessed first-hand Ford Motor Company’s seemingly endless death spiral of market share losses, product flops, multi-billion dollar screw-ups and wondered if their company was going to survive. They’ve seen the company’s stock drop to an all time low of $1.26/share and stop paying dividends. Ford stock has rebounded to $14.00/share.
As published last week in The Examiner, Ford has experienced a major turnaround. Market share has rebounded. Alan Mulally has consistently beat projections and exceeded expectations. According to an Associated Press report, Ford posted an unexpected $2.7 billion profit for 2009, which was the first time the company posted a full year profit since 2005.
Ford family's role questioned
The reversal in Ford’s financial condition has surfaced a sentiment among employees and retirees few have been willing to openly talk about: The role of the Ford family. The Ford family remains firmly in control of Ford Motor Company through their exclusive ownership of B stock, the only shares with voting power.
After witnessing the company's turnaround under Mulally's leadership, a number of Ford retirees and stockholders are no longer sentimental about having a Ford family member at the head of Ford Motor Company. Bill Ford, Jr. served as CEO from 2001 (following the ouster of Jac Nasser) until Alan Mulally became CEO in 2006.
One retiree who declined to be identified by name said, “The last family member qualified to run Ford Motor Company was Henry Ford II.” Henry Ford II was President of Ford Motor Company from 1945 to 1960, and Chairman of the Board and CEO from 1960 to 1979.
Read: Ford Motor Company stock price tops $14.00/surges to five-year high.
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Photo: Ford Motor Company
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