Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally is a candidate for Secretary of State, in part, because of his experience with foreign governments.
Word is circulating that President-elect Donald Trump is considering former Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally to be the next Secretary of State.
Politico and other news sites report Mulally, who visited Trump Tower in New York, could emerge as a possibility, if not unusual, pick.
Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway confirmed in an interview on Fox News this morning that Mulally met with Trump in New York on Thursday. She confirmed also that Trump is expanding his search and also met with Exxon Mobil chairman, president and CEO Rex Tillerson.
“The secretary of State field has obviously broadened and widened,” she said. “There are a number of people who have come in in recent days and weeks to interview with the president-elect and the vice president-elect.”
In addition to Mulally and Tillerson, the pool of potential candidates includes former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and former CIA Director David Petraeus.
(Trump nominates Oklahoma AG Pruitt to head EPA. For more, Click Here.)
GM CEO Mary Barra with her former Ford counterpart Alan Mullally could both play roles in the new Trump administration.
Trump has been filling his cabinet with a selection of high profile Wall Street insiders, such as Wilbur Ross and Steve Manuchin, as well as retired generals, so a former CEO, like Mulally, would seem to fit right in even though he has no government or diplomatic experience.
Mulally, however, did handle high profile overseas contact with China and other foreign countries during his years at Ford and earlier at Boeing where he headed up the company’s commercial aviation division. He spent most of his career at Boeing before joining Ford in 2006.
Ironically, Trump has taken both of his former employers to task in recent months; Ford over its operations in Mexico and Boeing for how much they allegedly are charging to build the new Air Force One jets.
Known for his calm demeanor, attention to detail and “aw-shucks” persona left his post at the Ford Motor Co. in 2014, but has served as a member of the board of directors of Google, one of the country’s leading tech companies, since his departure.
(Click Here for more about Mulally’s role at Google.)
Nonetheless, Mulally, who has said in the past he wasn’t particularly interested in a government job, a job with the Trump administration would represent a significant shift for the former auto executive, who left Ford a wealthy man.
During his tenure at Ford, Mulally emerged as a star CEO for leading a storybook turnaround after the company mortgaged all of its major assets, including the fabled Blue Oval logo. While considered the weakest of the Detroit makers in the years before his arrival, Ford ultimately was the only domestic manufacturer to acheive its turnaround without a government-financed bankruptcy.
At the same time, Mulally deftly short circuited Ford’s traditionally acrimonious internal politics and became an engaging spokesman for the company’s products. By the time he stepped aside – a month before his 69th birthday – Mulally had become something of a celebrity who was routinely asked for his autograph.
(To see more about Mary Barra new role helping the incoming Trump administration, Click Here.)
Until he took himself out of the running, Mulally was considered a strong candidate for the chief executive spot with Microsoft, in Seattle. But the tech firm’s inside veteran Satya Nadella was named CEO in January, weeks after Mulally said he would remain with Ford.