Darius Adamczyk to Take Reins from David Cote as Honeywell CEO in 2017

David Cote, Honeywell CEO for 14 years, was Chief Executive’s 2013 CEO of the Year.

Before his latest appointment, Adamczyk served as president and CEO of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT), a subsidiary that develops refrigerants, specialty films and process solutions. Adamczyk also previously served as President of Honeywell Process Solutions, which was incorporated into Honeywell PMT under his leadership.

Prior to joining the company eight years ago, he held executive roles at Ingersoll-Rand PLC and Metrologic Instruments, Inc., a company that Honeywell acquired. Adamczyk holds an MBA from Harvard University, a masters degree in computer engineering from Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Michigan State University. Adamczyk started his professional career in 1988 as an electrical engineer for General Electric.

“Darius Adamczyk has very big shoes to fill.”

Credit Suisse analyst Julian Mitchell told Barron’s that while many investors were anticipating the announcement, “our conversations with investors suggest that many had not expected Mr. Cote to step down as CEO so soon.” A Credit Suisse statement also said that Adamczyk has “very big shoes to fill.”

Cote was named Chief Executive’s CEO of the Year in 2013 after raising Honeywell’s stock price more than 223% during his tenure. Cote was recognized for his strong leadership, strong business performance, and statesmanship in a challenging economy. Peers say he brought growth and turnaround to Honeywell and was able to transform the company through acquisitions and innovation. “David has a long-term track record of excellent performance in a complex business model,” Bill Nuti, Chairman and CEO of NCR, said at the time of his nomination in 2013.

A Bloomberg columnist said Adamczyk will likely continue building up Honeywell’s software position through acquisitions and that investors can “expect to see more Intelligrated-like deals under his tenure.” (Honeywell recently announced it would acquire Intelligrated, a supply chain and warehouse automation company, for $1.5 billion.) Mitchell said that after a period of margin expansion and in-line organic sales growth, they believe Adamczyk may adopt a “more aggressive” approach to driving top-line sales growth.

Cote will continue to serve as executive chairman until the annual shareholders’ meeting in April 2018.

Craig Guillot

Craig Guillot is a business writer based in New Orleans, La. His work has appeared in Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, CNNMoney.com and CNBC.com. You can read more about his work at www.craigdguillot.com.