Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced the appointment of Alan Mulally to its board of directors. According to the search engine giant, Mullaly will serve on the board’s audit committee. His appointment was effective on July 9.
Mullaly recently retired as president chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) wherein he succeeded in implementing strategies that brought the automaker back to profitability.
In a statement, Larry Page, CEO of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) said, “Alan brings a wealth of proven business and technology leadership experience. I am so pleased that Alan is now joining Google’s board!”
On the other hand, Mulally said, “I am honored to serve on the board of a global iconic company that is dedicated to enhancing our lives. I look forward to working together with the Google board and management team to continue to deliver their compelling vision.”
Mulally led Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) from September 2006 until June 2014. During his tenure, he also served as a member of the board of directors of the automaker, and member of the Ford’s finance committee.
Prior to his career at Ford Motor Company, Mulally worked as executive vice president at the Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) from 2001 to 2006. He also became president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Inc. He was a member of the Boeing Executive Council. He also served as president of the space and defense business of the aerospace company.
Commenting on the appointment of Mulally, Bob Denaro, an intelligent transportation system consultant and a former executive at Nokia Corporation and Motorola said, “As Google’s car project progresses the company needs a mixture of their existing culture of moving quickly and disrupting things and a more incremental approach to address safety and other challenges faced in the auto industry.”
Some people observed the existence of a tense relationship between Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and the auto industry when the search engine giant revealed its self-driving car. A majority of the car manufacturers are incrementally adding autonomous driving features to their new vehicles due.
The search engine giant appointed Ron Medford as director of safety for its self-driving car project in 2012. Medford was the former deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). His appointment showed that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is considering safety issues in developing its self-driving car, which alleviated concerns regarding the issue.
