Detroit's Big Three CEOs

Fast Facts:

• Mulally, 63, was raised in Lawrence, Kan., where he cultivated interests in drawing and physics. He attended the University of Kansas, where he received a B.S. and M.S., and earned a master's in management from M.I.T. in 1982

• Married, with five children

• Flew to Ford in 2006 from Boeing, where he had served in a variety of executive-level positions, including as President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes

• A private pilot and avid tennis player

• Earned more than $21 million last year—a rate of $10,000 an hour, according to the New York Times

• Drove part of the way to the Capitol Hill hearings in three separate company hybrid vehicles

Quotes from Mulally:

• "I think I'm OK where I am."
(Mulally, speaking in November, on whether he would take $1 in salary; he has since agreed to do so if Ford accepts government loan money)

• "For too long, each sector has wanted someone else to be the solution in order to pass the buck." (Testifying before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on March 14, 2007, about Ford's plans to combat climate change)

Quotes about Mulally:

•"I'd rank 'em Ford, Chrysler and General Motors."
(Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers, when asked by Senator Bob Corker on Nov. 19 the strength of the three companies. Corker concurred, saying, "My sense is that Ford has done a better job.")

• "At Boeing, Mulally had a reputation as an ace engineer and turnaround guy. He helped develop hit models like the 777 jetliner, launched in the early '90s, and the 787 Dreamliner, expected in 2008. After plane orders plummeted following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Mulally stabilized the commercial aircraft division, which is now earning handsome profits."
(TIME, Sept. 6, 2006)

• "What has Mr. Mulally's pay bought Ford? An executive who reads and promptly answers (or forwards) every e-mail message, sends notes of praise and has spent a year immersing himself in the automobile industry."
(New York Times, August 22, 2007)