Jennifer Rumsey named Cummins president & CEO

Jennifer Rumsey Cummins president and chief operating officer, will assume the role of president and CEO Aug. 1. (Photo: Cummins)

Cummins Inc. announced that, effective Aug. 1, 2022, Tom Linebarger will end his term as chief executive officer (CEO) and Jennifer Rumsey, president and chief operating officer (COO), will assume the role of president and CEO.

Rumsey will be the seventh CEO and first woman to lead the company since it was founded in 1919. Linebarger will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors and in an executive chairman role, working directly with Rumsey on specific initiatives that position the company for continued success, including completing the pending acquisition of Meritor.

“Jen is a once in a generation talent and the right leader for Cummins at this important time in our history,” said Linebarger. “She has been my partner in developing the Destination Zero strategy, which sets forth how the decarbonization of our industry will be a significant growth opportunity for Cummins. Her background as an engineer and technology expertise provides her a deep understanding of the major technical changes taking place and how to capitalize on them.

“Jen uniquely understands our customers and business, having worked in many different parts of the business during her more than 20-year career, and in every role, she has consistently delivered results. Most recently, she led our global operations as COO during one of the most challenging periods in our history, delivering record revenues and dramatically improving product quality and our market position while addressing unprecedented supply chain constraints. Most importantly, Jen is a principled leader who cares deeply about our stakeholders. We share a common vision for Cummins, and I am confident that Jen will lead Cummins into an even more prosperous future.”

Cummins chairman and CEO, Tom Linebarger will retire from those roles Aug. 1, but will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors and in an executive chairman role, (Photo: Cummins)

Since taking on the role of COO in March 2021, Rumsey has overseen Cummins’ global operations. In February 2022, she was elected to the Cummins board of directors, and she will maintain her seat on the board.

“I am honored and proud to be appointed the next CEO of Cummins and excited about what the future holds for the company,” said Rumsey. “Growing up in Columbus, Indiana, where Cummins was founded, and spending most of my career here makes this announcement incredibly meaningful. I am grateful to Tom for his support and mentorship over the years and to the board for their confidence in my leadership.

“My technical background, business experience and focus on people, purpose, and impact have prepared me for this moment. At Cummins, we build solutions that serve our customers’ needs and better our planet both now and in the future. At a time when technology is evolving more rapidly than at any point in our history, we must emphasize the critical role people play in our collective success. By putting people at the center of everything we do, we will power the path to decarbonization and advance our mission of powering a more prosperous world.”

Rumsey began her Cummins career working in Research and Technology, primarily focused on advancing technology to reduce criteria pollutants from diesel engines. Since then, she has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility and impact, including bringing new platforms and technologies to the market, driving improvements in product quality, and developing the capability of global teams. She has also been deeply engaged with some of the company’s most important original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners. The leadership roles Rumsey has held include president of Components, where she oversaw a global portfolio of business units that delivered profitable growth while ensuring power solutions met performance and emissions goals, and chief technical officer, where she led strategic investments in key technologies and applications to transition to lower carbon emissions products, laying the foundation years ago for the company’s New Power Business and Destination Zero strategy. Prior to Cummins, Rumsey worked for a fuel cell technology company.

Rumsey is a member of the Society of Women Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, the Purdue Engineering Advisory Council and Women in Trucking Association. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Easily one of the most successful and influential leaders in the company’s history, Linebarger became chairman and CEO of Cummins on Jan. 1, 2012. Prior to that, he served as president and COO from 2008 to 2011, executive vice president and president, Power Generation Business from 2003 to 2008, vice president and chief financial officer from 2000 to 2003, and vice president, Supply Chain Management from 1998 to 2000.

Prior to joining Cummins, Linebarger was an investment analyst and investment manager at Prudential Investment Corp. where he lived in both Singapore and Hong Kong. He grew up in California and in 1986 received joint undergraduate degrees in management engineering from Claremont McKenna College and mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He later returned to Stanford University to earn an MS in manufacturing systems from the School of Engineering and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business in 1993.

While at Stanford, he worked at Cummins as an intern and spent his summer working on the manufacturing line at the Cummins Midrange Engine plant in Walesboro, Ind.

“On behalf of the Cummins board, I want to thank Tom for his three decades at the company, including the last 15 years where he served first in the COO role and then as CEO,” said Tom Lynch, Cummins lead director. “His leadership has grown Cummins’ global business, positioned the company to lead in zero- and low-carbon solutions, and developed a highly capable and diverse management team to lead us through the technology transition.

“We look forward to his continued contributions as executive chairman. During our long-term strategic planning, the Board had the opportunity to see Jen lead on key business initiatives and co-author the Destination Zero strategy with Tom. Jen is the ideal choice to lead Cummins into its next chapter, and we are confident that Jen will drive continued success for our business and customers.”