谁将成为福特新任掌门人？

    剩下的其他四人中，谁将获得幸运女神的垂青呢？

    现年63岁的首席财务官路易斯·布茨尽管业绩骄人，但他很可能更愿意隐退；而48岁的营销奇才吉姆·法利则需要更多的历练。

    这样就只剩两位候选人了。据说，穆拉利青睐的是与其共事的工程师韩瑞麒。韩今年44岁，拥有哈佛商学院（Harvard Business School）的学位。2000年，他加盟福特，担任变速器工厂的经理。此后，他从这一基层职位起步，一路平步青云。现在，韩是福特汽车中国公司的总裁兼首席执行官，同时还掌管着福特汽车亚太区的运营大权。

    不过，比尔·福特拥有决定性的一票。据公司内部拥有知情权的人士透露，他的选择与公司里许多人的选择一致，都倾向于起用马克·菲尔兹。菲尔兹现年50岁，也毕业于哈佛商学院。他掌管着福特汽车核心的北美业务，并主抓公司最赚钱的车型：F-150皮卡。在他的任期内，福特汽车得以跻身于底特律三雄（Detroit Three），成为最有能力抵御进口汽车激烈竞争的厂商之一。尽管他会在周末与家人去佛罗里达度假，但在每周的上班时间里，他都会在办公室工作很长时间，同时刻意回避当地媒体的关注。

    人们看好菲尔茨角逐首席执行官宝座还有另外一个原因：如果落败，他肯定会离开公司，找一份离家更近、相对更清闲的工作。而韩瑞麒则不太可能离开。他更可能会顺理成章地获得提升，接替菲尔茨的职责，随后就等待公司的授意，等着参加下一轮的权力交接竞赛。

    那么，假定菲尔茨是福特下任首席执行官的头号候选人，福特公司将为这一权力移交做哪些准备呢？

    福特可以好好学学通用电气公司（General Electric）的杰克·韦尔奇。韦尔奇在自己卸任的6年前就启动了一项继任者规划，它大致罗列了一位首席执行官所需具备的技能和个性特征，并将三位继任者的名单公之于众。2000年，当通用电气最终宣布杰夫·伊梅尔特将接任首席执行官时，几乎没有引起任何喧嚣。

    福特汽车和穆拉利的工作则要容易得多。既然已没有真正的继任者选拔赛了，他们亟需要做的就是，让菲尔茨获得更多的公众关注，让他对媒体的曝光感到更坦然，并让外界有机会加深对他的了解。这就需要精力旺盛的穆拉利稍微退居二线一些。不过，除非他打算终身担任首席执行官一职，否则穆拉利一定也乐意向自己的继任者伸出援手，由此也为自己在福特汽车已经无比辉煌的业绩上再添上浓墨重彩的一笔。

    译者：清远

    Who among the remaining four will get the nod?

    Despite his stellar performance as CFO, Lewis Booth, 63, would probably prefer to retire, while marketing guru Jim Farley, 48, needs broader experience.

    That leaves two candidates. Mulally is said to favor fellow engineer Joe Hinrichs. Hinrichs, 44, holds a degree from Harvard Business School, and has risen quickly up the ranks from the factory floor since joining Ford as the manager of a transmission plant in 2000. Hinrichs is currently chairman and CEO of Ford China and runs Ford's operations in Asia Pacific.

    But Bill Ford has the deciding vote, and his choice, as well as that of many in the company, according to those in a position to know, is Mark Fields. Another HBS graduate, Fields, 50, runs Ford's core North American operations and is responsible for the company's biggest moneymaker: the F-150 pickup truck. During his tenure, Ford Motor has emerged as the member of the Detroit Three most able to resist the inroads of import competition. Although he spends weekends in Florida with his family, Fields logs long hours in the office during the workweek and avoids the local media spotlight.

    There's another reason why the CEO's job is Fields' to lose: If passed over, he would almost surely leave the company for less grueling work closer to home. There is less chance of losing Hinrichs. He could plausibly be promoted to Fields' old job and told to wait his turn for the next opening.

    So assuming Fields is first in line to be Ford's next CEO, how does the company prepare the world for this transition?

    It could learn some things from General Electric's (GE) Jack Welch. Six years before he retired, Welch started a succession planning process, outlining the skills and characteristics that a CEO should have and letting it be known who the three leading candidates were to replace him. When the announcement was finally made in 2000 that he would be succeeded by Jeffrey Immelt, there was little surprise.

    Ford and Mulally's job is much easier. Since there is no real horse race, they mostly need to give Fields public exposure to make him feel more comfortable and to give outsiders a chance to size him up. That will require the energetic Mulally to back off a little. But unless he intends to remain CEO for life, Mulally surely will be motivated to give his successor a helping hand and thus add to his already superlative record at Ford.