By Angela Chen
United Technologies Corp. said Chief Executive Louis Chenevert
plans to retire, effective immediately, and the industrial
conglomerate named Chief Financial Officer Gregory Hayes as his
successor.
Lead independent director Edward A. Kangas--who was a former
chief executive of Deloitte, Touche, Tohmatsu--has been elected
nonexecutive chairman.
The leadership change comes as Hartford, Conn.-based United
Technologies has struggled in recent quarters due to weak order
growth and disappointing margins.
Mr. Chenevert, who joined the company's Pratt & Whitney
jet-engine division in 1993, was elevated to president and chief
operating officer in 2006. He became CEO in 2008 and was named
chairman in January 2010.
Before joining United Tech, he spent 14 years with General
Motors Co., eventually becoming production manager at a plant in
Quebec.
Mr. Chenevert, who is 57 years old, aimed to focus the company,
which makes Otis elevators, Carrier air and heating appliances and
Sikorsky helicopters, on two main markets: aerospace and building
systems.
In the past few years, he combined a variety of United Tech
brands--including Carrier air-conditioning, Chubb security systems
and Kidde fire alarms--into a single building and industrial
systems segment. In 2012, the company acquired Goodrich Corp., the
world's largest manufacturer of aircraft landing gear, in a move
that broadened its portfolio of aircraft equipment. During his
tenure, the company's share price climbed nearly 50%.
Mr. Hayes, meanwhile, is a 25-year company veteran who has spent
six years as finance chief and worked on communications between the
board and investors. He joined United Tech in 1999 through its
merger with Sundstrand Corp., where he had served as vice president
of finance for its aerospace segment. In 2003, he became controller
and was promoted to chief financial officer in 2008. He is 54 years
old.
Mr. Kangas has been on the UTC board since 2008.
Earlier this year, United Technologies was hit by a pair of
high-profile setbacks related to its jet-engine development
programs. In May, one of Pratt's new geared turbofan commercial
engines suffered a failure while in testing at a Canadian facility
of plane-maker Bombardier. And in June, an engine fire temporarily
grounded the entire fleet of the Pentagon's new F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter, for which Pratt provides the sole engine.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@dowjones.com
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