While Microsoft has been busy listing Ford chief executive Alan Mullaly on their CEO shortlist, the guy seemed not to even care. Well, he said it before, he is saying it again “indirectly” that he has no plans of joining the software giant.
Board director Edsel Ford II confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg that CEO Mullaly told them that he is staying with the automaker until 2014. This statement alone has lost Microsoft all hopes to get Mullaly for the company which is in dire need of someone to steer its wheels to its new goals.
Ford CEO Alan Mullaly is busy promoting the company’s latest offering— the sixth-gen Ford Mustang. When asked of his opinion about Microsoft considering him as replacement for the outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer, he replied with a brief statement. “There is no change to the plan,” he said.
Ballmer announced in August that he will be retiring in a year and if Mullaly is serious about staying with Ford through end of year, that automatically removes his name on the shortlist. The latest shortlist includes Mullaly and a Microsoft insider Satya Nadella who is chief of Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise division.
Did Microsoft really lose its chance to get their “turnaround guy?” Analysts say there is still hope.
“Alan Mulally was asked directly about this, and he said only that he is happy serving Ford. When then confronted with the observation that he did not answer the question, all he would say is, ‘we do not comment on speculation,’” Rick Sherlund, analyst for Nomura Holdings Inc., wrote in an investor note.
“We view these as non-denial denials. If he were not in discussions, it would be easy to say I am not interested and will not go, as some other candidates have said.”
