alan roger mulally (born august 4, 1945) is an american engineer, business executive, and former president and chief executive officer of the ford motor company. he retired from ford motor company on july 1, 2014. ford had been struggling during the late-2000s recession. mulally made it profitable again. because of him, ford was the only american major car manufacturer to avoid a bailout fund given by the government. on july 15, 2014, he was chosen to be on the google board of directors.