Google has appointed former Ford CEO Alan Mulally to its board of directors. The move was announced on Tuesday although the appointment was made effective on July 9 according to a press release from Google on the matter.
Specifically, the executive will be joining Google's audit committee which is comprised of three independent board members. As the name suggests, their task is to oversee the search giant's accounting division and financial reporting process.
Mulally has a storied career, having served as executive vice president of the Boeing Company and president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Inc. from March 2001 through September 2006. As CNET points out, he is largely credited with steering Ford through the recent economic recession. Under his watch, Ford was the only major automaker in the US that didn't receive a government bailout.
He left that position to become president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, a position he held until his retirement on July 1.
At one point near the end of last year, Mulally was labeled by some as the frontrunner to replace Steve Ballmer at Microsoft. He reportedly had little interest in the gig at first but warmed up to the idea over time. The board of directors at Ford demanded answers to the rumors and in early January 2014, he pulled out of the race.
On May 1, Ford announced Mulally would retire in July. True enough, he was replaced by COO Mark Fields at the first of the month.
