Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally’s total compensation rose 48 percent to $26.5 million in 2010 when the automaker reported its best net profit in a decade.
Mulally is credited with turning around Ford’s fortunes from the time he became CEO in October 2006, including steering it through the U.S. economic recessions without taking a U.S. government bailout as did the other two major U.S. automakers General Motors Co. and Chrysler.
Company executive chairman Bill Ford’s 2010 compensation rose 57 percent to $26.4 million, including a salary of $4.8 million. That salary includes pay deferred from 2008 and 2009 when the Ford scion said he would take no salary until the company was profitable again.
Ford’s shares in late 2008 were just above $1 and soared to nearly $19 in January. On Friday, Ford shares were trading at $15.36 per share, up 21 percent from a year ago.
Chrysler came out of its 2009 bankruptcy under the management of Italy’s Fiat SpA.
This is one of the CEO cases where the guy deserves every penny. He asked for nothing from the gov’t, he worked for nothing for a couple of years, his leadership was just astounding and he saved the life of Ford and its workers. Good for him. Since most of it is in stock he has great incentive to continue the march. I say bravo to Mr. Mulally