“I can remember the first time I tried to drive into the garage of the world headquarters of Ford in a Camry. It was almost like they wouldn't let me in. They said, 'Why do you want to do that?' I said, 'Because we are going to make the best cars in the world, and we need to know everything about the competitor's car.'”

American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive

Alan Mulally is an American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive. He served as chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes from 1998 to 2006 and later led Ford Motor Company as president and chief executive officer from 2006 to 2014. Mulally is known for his leadership in large-scale industrial organizations, first in aviation and then in the automobile industry. His career is closely associated with managing complex engineering and manufacturing operations at two of the best-known American companies.