July 1 will bring one of the biggest transitions Ford Motor Co. has experienced in years – but don’t expect to see many changes, short of who gets the best parking spot in the underground garage at Glass House, the automaker’s suburban Detroit headquarters. In what was arguably the worst-kept industry secret in some time, Ford officially confirmed that the 68-year-old Alan Mulally well retire as CEO and hand the reins over to his hand-picked protégé, Mark Fields at the mid-year mark.
And in both their Thursday morning news conference, as well as subsequent interviews with TheDetroitBureau.com, the two executives repeatedly sounded the same phrase to describe the “smooth and orderly” transition to come.