[1][2] Ford also served as the president, CEO, and COO until turning over those roles to former Boeing executive Alan Mulally in September 2006.

[9] He joined Ford in 1979 and held a variety of positions, beginning in product development and on the financial staff, a grooming ground for future executives.

Ford added the title of chief executive officer on October 30, 2001, following the ouster of then-CEO Jacques Nasser.

On September 5, 2006, Ford announced that he was stepping down as president and CEO, naming former Boeing senior executive Alan Mulally as his replacement.

[12] Under his direction, Ford Motor Company made technological progress toward improving fuel efficiency, with the introduction of the Hybrid Electric Escape, the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market, achieving 36 mpg (EPA) in city driving.

Ford also continued to study Fuel Cell-powered electric powertrains and demonstrated hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine technologies, as well as developing the next-generation hybrid-electric systems.

Ford was committed to sell 250,000 alternative and flexible fuel vehicles – the majority of which would be designed to operate on ethanol-gasoline blends such as E85 – in 2006.

[14] Speaking at conference in November 2000 in London, Ford suggested that the company might one day offer a service where it owns vehicles and makes them available to people when they need access to them.

[15] Market competition, health care, and raw material costs led Ford to announce a second restructuring for its North American operations in four years.

[clarification needed] Ford co-founded the firm with Ralph Booth (chairman and CEO of Booth American Company and a media and telecom investor), Mark Schulz (former head of Ford Motor Company's international operations), Chris Cheever, and Chris Thomas.