To the credit of CEO Mulally, he did a lot to bring back Ford from major problems. He also deferred a significant amount of income during the down years. It's not that his pay isn't as crazy as many other executives (often, who under-perform) but these are still eye-popping numbers. So many middle class people are being asked to do more with less so I wish we could see some level of fairness brought back into this system instead of skyrocketing executive pay. It may not be a Mulally-specific problem, but he's certainly part of the problem. CNBC:
Together, it is one of the richest pay packages ever given top executives in the auto industry.
Too much?
Depends on who you ask. If you ask Ford workers who have seen Mulally steer Ford back from the brink of bankruptcy, they probably won't grouse too much. Nor will we hear much from many Ford investors who have seen Ford shares go from $1.56 to more than $14 a share. Ford dealers? I doubt it. Their dealerships are raking in cash with one of the strongest line-ups around.
So who will blast the Ford board for rewarding Mulally and Ford with tens of millions? Mainly the average American who doesn't follow the company closely. Most will not realize that Bill Ford deferred compensation when the company was losing money. Nor will many of the Ford critics ask themselves this question: where would Ford be if Alan Mulally were never picked to run the company?
