Boston, MA 07/14/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) cannot forget the contribution of its immediate former chief executive officer Allan Mulally who helped it overcome the challenges of the financial meltdown about five years ago. While rival General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) had to apply for a government bailout to stay afloat, Ford successfully managed its way through the murky waters and in the end avoided expensive loans.
In an honor to Mr. Mulally, Ford announced a 10-year scholarship program to selected engineering students around the world. Under the engineering program, the company will provide 10 onetime scholarship of $10,000. That translates into $1 million in 10 years. The company said half of the funds will come from Ford while the other half will come from Ford Fund, which is the philanthropic arm of the automaker.
From Boeing
Mr. Mulally, a trained engineer who moved to Ford from Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) in 2006, relied on his engineering skills to reinvent Ford at the greatest hour of need.
According Bill Ford, the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), the scholarship program is in honor of Mr. Mulally’s legacy. The scholarship will benefit engineering students who demonstrate the strong ability that is required to create the next generation of leaders for the auto industry.
Mr. Ford went on to note that Mr. Mulally’s engineering background and data-driven decisions led to his extraordinary leadership at Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F).
The company said it would work directly with universities so as to identify candidates for the scholarship. Its philanthropic arm, Ford Fund, will manage the program.
Market share
The performance at Ford increased so much under Mr. Mulally that the company improved its market share in key markets such as China and Europe. Even in Europe where automakers are facing weak sales because of economic slowdown, the company managed to reduce its losses faster than rivals.
Building on a strong foundation created under Mr. Mulally, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) plans to release several new vehicle models this year to capture bigger emerging market.
