DETROIT (TheStreet) -- Alan Mulally was among the 2 million people who watched the first flight of the Boeing 787 this month, which is not surprising. Before Mulally became CEO of Ford(F Quote) in 2006, Boeing(BA Quote) was his life for 38 years, and he had a primary role in the 787's early development.

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"Alan Mulally, if he continues to do what he is doing at Ford, will be viewed as the most impressive executive of this decade," says Joe Leonard, a longtime Mulally friend who spent 40 years in aviation and aerospace and recently retired as chairman of AirTran(AAI Quote).