Ford’s Alan Mulally First Speaker for Innovation Power Panel Keynote at CES 2012

CES 2012 begin in a little more than 80 days. For the fourth year in a row, Mr. Alan Mulally, Ford President and CEO, will be a major presence at the show, with the Consumer Electronics Association today announcing that Mr. Mulally is the first speaker for the Innovation Power Panel Keynote session.  Panelists will discuss how a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship has made them global leaders in their industries. This keynote panel debuted in 2011 and featured the CEOs of Cisco, GE and Xerox. Ford will be the first automotive company on this panel.

A Man of Action at Boeing and Ford

Mr. Mulally has a strong track record when comes to innovation and entrepreneurship.

At Boeing held a number of engineering and program management positions, making contributions to the Boeing 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 projects.

He led the cockpit design team on the 757/767 project.   757/767 revolutionary design featured the first all-digital flight deck in a commercial aircraft.

In 1997, Mulally became the president of the Information, Space & Defense Systems and senior vice president.  He held this position until 1998 when he was made president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Chief Executive Officer duties were added in 2001

Mulally’s performance at Boeing, Aviation Week & Space Technology named him as person of the year for 2006.

One of Mulally’s first decisions at Ford was to bring back the Taurus. He said that he could not understand why the company previously scrapped the Taurus, which had been one of the company’s best sellers.

Mulally took over “The Way Forward” restructuring plan at Ford to turn-around its massive losses and declining market share.Mulally’s cost cutting initiatives led to the company’s first profitable quarter in two years.

ue to his achievements at Ford, he was included in the 2009 Time 100 list. The entry, written by Steve Ballmer, says, ” He understands the fundamentals of business success as well as any business leader I know.”

In 2011, Mulally was named Person of the Year by the The Financial Times ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Awards.He was also named the 2011 CEO of the Year by Chief Executive magazine.

(Yes we here at ToT are fans of his!)

Tech in Cars

In 2012, CEA industry forecasts predict sales of factory-installed vehicle technologies will increase by 16 percent, to nearly $7 billion. Connected systems like  ord SYNC offer infotainment, communication, safety and driver assistance solutions and services. CEA consumer research shows approximately 15 percent of U.S. households now own a vehicle with a connected communication/entertainment system. CEA expects this figure to rise quickly in the coming years as car companies make these solutions available across more models.

Ford 2011 Car Tech Highlights:

• Ford researchers revealed they are developing industry-first voice-controlled in-car connections to an array of health aids from glucose monitoring devices, diabetes management services, asthma management tools and Web-based allergen alert solutions: the SYNC Health & Wellness Connectivity Services

• At the Google I/O conference in May, Ford introduced its research and innovation into using the cloud to predict driver behavior in order to optimize vehicle control systems and improve vehicle performance attributes such as fuel or hybrid-electric efficiency: smart electrification

• Ford is accelerating development of intelligent vehicle technology that in the near future will allow vehicles to talk wirelessly with one another to reduce crashes and traffic congestion. Ford is increasing the number of scientists working on the technology, and is deploying a fleet of intelligent prototype vehicles for demonstrations across the country: intelligent vehicles.

When and Where

The panel will take place in the Las Vegas Hilton Theater on Jan. 11 at 9 a.m. local time.  If you are going to CES, it well worth the stop and gives you feet a break from the show floor.  If you are unable to go CES, Takes on Tech will have coverage of both Ford and Mr. Mulally’s moves and announcements.