Jennifer Rumsey will succeed Tom Linebarger as CEO of Cummins Inc. She is the first female and only the 7th CEO in the company’s 103-year history. (Photo: Cummins)
Jennifer Rumsey will succeed Tom Linebarger as CEO of Cummins Inc. next month. She is the first female and only the seventh CEO in the engine maker and power distribution company’s 103-year history.
“I am the right leader for Cummins at this time,” Rumsey said in a news conference with Linebarger on Thursday. “I believe that my life and leadership has led me to this moment in time.”
Heir apparent at Cummins
Rumsey, 48, was born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, the midsized Midwest city where Cummins is based. She attended Purdue University, a noted engineering school and worked at a fuel cell technology startup before joining Cummins 21 years ago.
“I knew Jen should be CEO before she knew she should be CEO,” Linebarger said. “She is a once-in-a-generation talent. You just don’t find people like her very much.”
“I told her about this day. ‘Remember there’s going to be a day when you get to be CEO and you’re going to stand in front of an audience in Columbus and you’re going to say, ‘I’m the first woman to be the CEO of this great company.’ And you’re going to say, ‘I’m from Columbus. I’m an engineer and I’m a woman and I stand for our future.’
“There’s not going to be a dry eye in the house.”
Succession planning part of Cummins’ DNA
Linebarger worked on succession planning from “the day after I took the job” 11 years ago.
“My boss did it for me and his boss did it for him. It’s something that’s part of this company’s DNA, and I was proud to learn it and be part of it.
“In all seriousness, making sure there is a good succession plan is the only way you can say you’ve left the company stronger than you found it,” he said. “You can’t leave a big pile and expect someone else to sort it out. “
Tom Linebarger will stay on at Cummins Inc. as executive chairman when Jennifer Rumsey becomes CEO on Aug. 1. (Photo: Cummins)
Linebarger becomes executive chairman
Pursuing the Destination Zero carbon reduction strategy she and Linebarger co-authored is a major goal, Rumsey said.
“We are living in a challenging period of time for our planet, our society, and it’s a really important time for Cummins,” Rumsey said. “Climate change is a real issue, and increasingly we’re living in a society that is divided and dealing with change. I believe this challenging period of time is the opportunity for us at Cummins to step up and shine, and we’ll do that.”
The road to sustainability means balancing new technology with improving current powertrains,” Linebarger said.
