Cummins leader steps aside, promotes first female CEO as his replacement

Tom Linebarger has announced he is stepping down as CEO of Cummins Aug. 1, and has named ‘once in a generation talent’ Jennifer Rumsey as his replacement.

Linebarger will stay on as chairman of the board and executive chairman, however he said in a press conference the time was right to promote Rumsey to the top job. She becomes the seventh CEO in the company’s history and the first female to hold the job.

Among her top responsibilities will be completing the acquisition of Meritor and leading Cummins to a zero-emissions future. She was instrumental in developing the company’s Destination Zero strategy, Linebarger said.

“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,” Linebarger said in a release.

“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.”

Rumsey has headed Cummins’ global operations as COO since March 2021.

“I am honored and proud to serve as your next CEO,” she said in addressing employees and media. “We are living in a challenging period of time for our planet and society. Climate change is a real issue. And increasingly, we’re living in a society that’s divided and dealing with change. I believe that this challenging period of time is an opportunity for us at Cummins to step up and shine and we will do that.”

Linebarger credited Rumsey with making Cummins a more diverse company and fostering employee relationships “in ways I still haven’t figured out.”

Rumsey began her career with a fuel cell start-up because she was intrigued by the technology. More than 20 years ago she arrived at Cummins, “because I recognized Cummins was working on technologies that would make a real impact.”

She feels decarbonization of the transportation industry is a growth opportunity for the company.