Ford Motor Co. promoted Mark Fields to Chief Executive Officer from Chief Operating Officer effective July 1 as CEO Alan Mulally retires from the second-largest U.S. automaker, the company said Thursday.
"Mark has transformed several of our operations around the world into much stronger businesses during his 25 years at Ford. Now, Mark is ready to lead our company into the future as CEO," Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement.
Mulally, 68, who had said he would stay at Ford through the end of the year, decided to accelerate his departure because of the "readiness of Ford's leadership team," according to the statement. Mulally had tears in his eyes as an auditorium full of employees at the Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters gave him a standing ovation.