挖角失敗 微軟下任執行長難產
摘錄自：天下雜誌 經濟學人電子報 2013/1/17
2014-01-10 Web only 作者：經濟學人
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圖片來源：flickr.com/photos/michigancommunities/
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福特汽車執行長穆拉里（Alan
Mulally）再也不必處理那個煩擾了他好幾個月的問題：他會不會離開福特，成為微軟的新任執行長？答案是：不會。
微軟執行長巴默（Steve
Ballmer）計畫於8月退休，穆拉里則是最有可能的接任人選。穆拉里、福特和微軟數月來一直迴避此問題，而此問題很有可能掩蓋福特在北美國際汽車展中的光芒。這或許解釋了為何穆拉里終於在星期二的訪談中表示，他不會離開福特。
穆拉里接任福特執行長之時，福特正面臨極為嚴峻的挑戰；他上任後的第一項任務，就是宣佈福特史上最嚴重的虧損。但在福特的管理層週會上，所有的新管理者都強調一切正常；穆拉里這才了解，福特那高度政治的文化，讓高層管理者難以承認問題，解決此事也成為他的首要目標。到了下一次週會，當時的福特北美總裁費爾茲（Mark Fields）舉起手，報告新產品推出的問題，穆拉里給出肯定的回應，促使其他高層管理者報告他們遇到的問題。
沒多久之後，穆拉里就得簽署費爾茲等高層人員的計畫，抵押公司的一切以取得數十億資金，讓公司得以渡過嚴重衰退；事後證明，這個決定極具先見之明，福特是唯一一間避免破產命運的底特律汽車製造商。
穆拉里的另一項重要決定，就是創造了「一個福特」策略，出售旗下所有的非核心高階品牌，並將相對獨立的區域業務，整合為真正的全球化產品開發及製造系統。其成果十分豐碩；穆拉里上任後，福特已創造329億美元的稅前淨利。
微軟並未公開討論巴默的接任人選，但報告亦指出，微軟將一個福特視為對抗蘋果、Google等競爭對手的模範。分析師和投資人似乎同意這樣的看法：穆拉里留任福特的消息傳出後，微軟的盤後股價下滑，福特則上升。
事實上，穆拉里或許不會在福特久留。2012年末，他將費爾茲升為營運長，並將日常營運交給費爾茲，自己則將心力放在長期策略之上。費爾茲得處理品質評等下滑、2014預估利潤下滑等問題，處理是否得當，將決定費爾茲有沒有機會成為穆拉里的接班人。（黃維德譯）
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2014
The Economist
Ford Motor Company
Mulally ends
his dilly-dally
By The Economist
From The Economist
Published: January 10, 2014
Jan 8th 2014, 16:14 by P.E. | DETROIT
EXPECT to see Alan Mulally, boss of Ford Motor Company, wading through
a crowd of journalists next Monday, as he unveils a new version of the firm's
big F-Series pickup truck to kick off the North American International Auto
Show. Amid the hubbub, the one question he will not have to deal with is the
one that has been dogging the 68-year-old executive for months: will he be
leaving for a new job as chief executive at Microsoft? He will not.
A long-time executive at Boeing, Mr Mulally was seen as the
front-runner to replace the software giant's outgoing boss, Steve Ballmer, who
plans to retire by August. Mr Mulally, along with Ford and Microsoft, had been
dodging the issue for months, and it threatened to overshadow Ford's big
announcement at the Detroit show. This may explain why he finally opened up on
Tuesday in an interview with the Associated Press. "I would like to end
the Microsoft speculation," he declared, "because I have no other
plans to do anything other than serve Ford." Asked directly whether this
meant he was going to remain at Ford as planned, Mr Mulally added that,
"You don't have to worry about me leaving."
With an aw-shucks manner and the boyish looks of a schoolkid from his
native Kansas, Mr Mulally seemed an unlikely choice to be the carmaker's chief
executive when Bill Ford, a family heir, decided to relinquish the role in
2006. Mr Mulally, who trained as an aeronautical engineer and was heading
Boeing's commercial aircraft operations, certainly could not have chosen a more
challenging moment to move to Detroit. Like its cross-town rivals, General
Motors and Chrysler, Ford was haemorrhaging cash and one of the new chief
executive's first jobs was to announce the biggest loss in the firm's history.
Yet, during the company's regular weekly management meeting, all his
new managers insisted everything was fine. Ford's highly political culture made
it dangerous for an executive to admit to trouble, Mr Mulally realised. Fixing
that became a priority. By the next Thursday meeting, things began to change.
Mark Fields, then Ford's president of the Americas, raised his hand to report a
problem with a new product launch. "Good exposure," Mr Mulally
responded, triggering other executives in the room to reveal issues they also
were facing.
Things were about to get tougher. Mr Mulally soon had to sign off on a
plan devised by Mr Fields and several other top executives to raise billions in
cash, which they hoped would see the firm through a deep recession. But it
meant mortgaging everything the company owned, even its Blue Oval logo. It
proved to be a prescient move. The anticipated downturn was far deeper than
anyone expected. With its cash line, Ford was the only Detroit maker to avoid
bankruptcy—something analysts say has helped both its reputation and sales.
Mr Mulally's other big move was creating the One Ford strategy. This
meant selling off the carmaker's non-core luxury brands, including Volvo,
Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, while consolidating a network of
relatively independent regional operations into a truly globalised product
development and manufacturing system. The payoff has been handsome, helping to
generate $32.9 billion in pre-tax profits since Mr Mulally came to Michigan.
Microsoft has not publicly discussed the candidates it has interviewed
to replace Mr Ballmer. Nonetheless, reports suggest the company saw One Ford as
a model for rallying its own balkanised operations against competitors like
Apple and Google. Analysts and investors seemed to agree: Microsoft's stock
slid in after-hours trading when word got around that Mr Mulally was staying
put. Ford shares rose.
In fact, he may not be around much longer in any case. In late 2012, he
promoted Mr Fields to chief operating officer and handed day-to-day running of
the firm to him. Mr Mulally, meanwhile, is focusing on longer-term strategic
issues. And there are plenty of challenges for him to ponder, including a late
start in booming China.
In his new role, Mr Fields will be addressing issues such as Ford's recent
decline in quality ratings, as well as a forecast decline in 2014 profits. How
he handles these challenges will determine whether he gets a shot at the top
job when Mr Mulally finally decides to retire.
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2014
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