Ford Motor Co., which has seen its shares in a free fall this week as investors flee the troubled auto industry,
said Friday that long-time CFO Don Leclair will retire Nov. 1 to be replaced by Lewis Booth, the head of the company's European operations.
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Leclair, 56, was named CFO in August 2003. He joined Ford in 1976.
The news comes as Ford and crosstown rival General Motors Corp. are fighting off bankruptcy rumors that have pounded their stocks. GM felt compelled to issue a statement denying it is considering a Chapter 11 filing Friday morning, and Ford CEO Alan Mulally in an interview with the Associated Press said that the company is in no danger of running out of cash and is not thinking about bankruptcy.
While Mulally might not be worried, the company's problems have caused considerable pain to Ford shareholders. The company's stock has lost half of its value since Monday on investor fears that an economic downturn could stall the company's revival and place it at risk of a filing.
Noticeably silent during this decline is Ford's largest private shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian. The renowned activist, who owns more than 120 million Ford shares, is down more than 75% on the 20 million shares he bought at $8.50 apiece in a June tender.
Kerkorian has insisted he believes in Mulally's turnaround plan. A source close to Ford insists that Kerkorian, who could be distracted by ongoing problems at film studio MGM, remains committed to working with Mulally and Ford. - Lou Whiteman
See Ford's statement
See TheDeal.com story on GM
See Associated Press interview with Ford's Mulally
See Dealscape post on Kerkorian's involvement in Ford
See Dealscape post on MGM
See Dealwatch: Autos
Lou Whiteman is a senior writer for The Deal covering the automotive and airline sectors
