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Industryweek 6997 Mark Fields
Industryweek 6997 Mark Fields
Industryweek 6997 Mark Fields
Industryweek 6997 Mark Fields
Industryweek 6997 Mark Fields

Ford's CEO Fields Gets 9% Raise in Annual Salary

July 2, 2014
Fields, 53, on Tuesday took the CEO reins from Alan Mulally, who received $23.2 million in total compensation last year, including $2 million in salary.

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. (IW 500/8) (F) said Wednesday its new chief executive officer, Mark Fields, will receive a 9% increase in his base salary, as well as stock options and a performance-based bonus.

Ford said in documents filed with U.S. regulators that Fields' base salary will be $1.75 million this year, up from $1.6 million last year when he was chief operating officer.

Fields, 53, took the CEO reins from Alan Mulally on Tuesday.

Last year, Fields' total compensation was $10.2 million. While the company outlined his compensation in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a spokeswoman said his total 2014 package will not be reported until next year's proxy.

Ford said 70% of its senior executive compensation is performance-based, tied to the company's business and stock performance.

Mulally received $23.2 million in total compensation last year, including $2 million in salary.

In addition to his salary, Fields received 710,227 stock options with an exercise price of $17.21 a share, vesting over a three-year period.

One-third of Fields' stock options are exercisable after one year, two-thirds after two years and in full after three years.

Inheriting Strength

Ford also set a target bonus of $3.5 million under its annual incentive compensation plan, and Fields could receive more or less than that, based on such factors as profit, cost performance, market share and quality. Fields' target bonus last year was $2.4 million.

Fields would be required to use a private plane when traveling on company business for safety and efficiency, the company said.

Ford had announced in May that Fields would take over as CEO, confirming what investors had long expected.

Mulally, 68, had been CEO since 2006 and was credited with steering Ford through the recession without falling into bankruptcy like its Detroit-area rivals General Motors Co.'s (IW 500/5) (GM) and Chrysler.

Ford said Wednesday that the board determined that Mulally will retain performance-based stock awards he received in March and the company will continue arrangements with him for housing and travel through the end of August

Analysts have said Fields inherited a much stronger company than Mulally did, one with a highly profitable North American operation underpinned by the top-selling F-150 large pickup truck, a growing share of the China auto market - the world's largest, and a nascent recovery in Europe.

The focus for Fields will be on execution as the No. 2 U.S. automaker is poised to launch a record 23 global products this year, including a new version of the lucrative F-150, analysts have said.

GM's new CEO, Mary Barra, who took over in January, will be paid up to $14.4 million in cash, stock and long-term compensation this year, as much as 60% more than her predecessor Dan Akerson.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Copyright Reuters, 2014

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