Ford CEO skirts talk of retirement

WILMINGTON, Del. – Ford CEO Alan Mulally brushed aside talk of retirement on Thursday, saying he hasn’t given any thought to stepping down now that the company is profitable.

“I haven’t thought about that at all,” Mulally, 65, said during a brief meeting with reporters after Ford Motor Co.’s annual shareholders meeting in Wilmington, Del. Mulally’s retirement is the subject of frequent speculation because he turns 66 in August.

Mulally said he’s pleased to be with Ford and has no plans beyond that. Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, who fired himself and hired Mulally as CEO in 2006, joked that there won’t be any discussion about Mulally leaving until 2025. The company doesn’t have a mandatory retirement age.

Mulally was hired away from Boeing Co. to rescue Ford, which was close to bankruptcy at the time.

Ford posted its eighth straight quarterly profit in the first quarter. The profit, of $2.6 billion, was Ford’s best first-quarter performance in 13 years.