By Anna Prior and Mike Ramsey
Ford Motor Co's new chief executive, Mark Fields will receive
annual salary of $1.75 million, slightly less than his predecessor,
Alan Mulally, as he takes the helm of the second largest U.S. auto
maker.
Details of the compensation, disclosed in a regulatory filing
Wednesday, show Mr. Field's pay package also includes a grant of
710,227 stock options, which have an exercise price of $17.21. The
package also has a performance bonus of up to 200% of his base
salary, or $3.5 million.
Mr. Fields officially took over Tuesday for Mr. Mulally, who
retired from his posts as CEO and president.
Last year, Mr. Mulally received a base salary of $2 million,
with the whole compensation package, including stock awards and
bonuses, totaling $23.2 million, according to a regulatory filing
earlier this year.
Mr. Fields' final compensation, which will include restricted
stock grants that vest, will likely be much higher than the $5.25
million reported Wednesday. Mr. Fields, who was chief operating
officer, had compensation of $10.2 million in 2013. While his base
salary is $250,000 lower than Mr. Mulally's was, his performance
bonus of 200% of salary compares with Mr. Mulally's bonus of 175%
of salary.
"We continue to believe in aligning executive compensation with
the company's business performance and long-term shareholder
value," said Susan Krusel, a Ford spokeswoman, in a statement.
"That's why more than 70 % of our senior executive compensation is
performance-based--tied to Ford's business performance and stock
performance."
Mr. Mulally will retain the performance-based stock awards he
received in March, and the company will continue its housing and
travel arrangements with Mr. Mulally for a period of transition
through Aug. 31, the company said in Wednesday's filing.
Mr. Fields is a Ford veteran who survived management turmoil in
the years before Mr. Mulally's 2006 arrival from Boeing Co. Mr.
Fields has won praise along with Mr. Mulally for getting Ford's
diverse operations to function as a single business with shared
parts, models and goals.
Mr. Fields faces a very different set of challenges than those
the former boss had tackled over the last eight years.
When Mr. Mulally arrived in 2006, Ford's main troubles were
inside the company--a dysfunctional culture, mounting losses, poor
product quality and unending turf battles that hamstrung its
performance.
Mr. Fields, however, takes the reins of a company that is
expanding and profitable. However, he can't slow the changes
intended to make the results-oriented management style instilled
under Mr. Mulally continue. He will also have to keep Ford's
profits in North America rolling and stanch losses in Europe.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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