In this April 16, 2014, file photo, Ford Motor Co. Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields delivers his keynote address at the New York International Auto Show, in New York's Javits Convention Center. Ford says CEO Alan Mulally will retire July 1 and be replaced by Fields.

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford says CEO Alan Mulally will retire July 1 and be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields.

The company made the announcement in a news release Thursday morning.

Fields will also become a member of the automaker's board of directors.

The 68-year-old Mulally is credited with saving Ford Motor Co. from financial ruin after being hired away from Boeing in 2006.

Fields has been running the company's daily operations since December of 2012.