As Google moves the human race toward a future of driverless pod cars, the technology behemoth has added former Ford CEO Alan Mulally (pictured at left with Bill Ford, Jr.) to its board of directors.
The formal appointment came just nine days after Mulally left his post in Dearborn on June 30. The 68-year-old aeronautical engineer is the only board member with automotive experience, and he may teach Google a thing or three about how the car market really works. Mulally is the man under whom the One Ford global-vehicle initiative was launched and who mortgaged Ford’s Blue Oval to avoid publicly toxic federal handouts—he also pledged at one point to work for $1 per year if Ford was bailed out by the government—so Google has tapped some serious automotive brainpower.
Although it has spent years toying with autonomous vehicles, Google is also marching toward becoming an auto supplier in the form of its Android Auto infotainment system. Automakers and other suppliers have also released app concepts for Google Glass. The company showed off a prototype of its own driverless car in May.
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According to Automotive News , Mulally will receive $350,000 per year plus $1 million in Google stock (as well as a $75K cash retainer fee and expenses). Mulally, in addition to heading Boeing for eight years, has also sat on boards for MIT, NASA, and the U.S. Air Force. Mulally’s insistence to share common car platforms and make a strong move toward turbocharged engines has paid dividends, quite literally, for Ford. Shall we start preparing for the “One Google” plan?
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