BorgWarner Inc. (IW 500/160) on Tuesday said it has appointed Ronald Hundzinski to chief financial officer and James Verrier to the newly created position of president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
The appointments coincide with the promotion of Robin Adams, who moves up from CFO to vice chairman of the board of directors. Adams remains executive vice president and chief administrative officer for BorgWarner, reporting to CEO Tim Manganello.
Hundzinski, the new CFO, has been with BorgWarner for nearly 10 years, while Verrier, the new president and COO, has been with the company for 22 years.
"As a practice of good corporate governance, all companies must have a strong succession plan in place, and we feel very comfortable and confident in the current breadth and depth of our management team," Erika Nielsen, BorgWarner director of marketing and public relations, told IndustryWeek in an e-mail.
"BorgWarner has a longstanding commitment to and track record of developing management talent internally, and yesterday's announcements are a continuation of this strategy."
The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based supplier of sparkplugs and other powertrain components is coming off a record 2011. BorgWarner reported full-year net sales of $7.1 billion -- an all-time high for the company -- as well as record earnings and operating-income margin.
Hundzinski and Verrier played "very integral" roles in last year's success, Nielsen asserted.
Hundzinski, 53, has a broad history with BorgWarner, most recently as corporate treasurer, and previously as corporate controller.
He also has leadership experience in operations, most recently as vice president of finance for BorgWarner Turbo Systems, the company's largest business unit. In that role, Hundzinski was "essential to its profitable growth," Nielsen said.
"In his roles as corporate treasurer and controller, he worked closely with [former CFO] Robin Adams and as such, we anticipate a seamless transition," Nielsen added.
Verrier, 49, has held positions of increasingly significant responsibility since joining the company in 1989. He served most recently as president and general manager of BorgWarner Morse TEC, and previously as vice president and general manager of BorgWarner Turbo Systems, Passenger Car Products, based in Germany.
Verrier's BorgWarner career experience includes assignments in quality control, human resources and operations management.
"We view him as a critical element of the management team," Nielsen said. "The board has the utmost confidence in his abilities and we expect a highly collaborative and successful relationship going forward as James will report to Tim Manganello."
In his new role as vice chairman of the board of directors, Adams, 58, will continue to focus on financial matters while working closely with Hundzinski in his new role as CFO, the company said.
Adams also will continue to provide input on the strategy and growth of the company.
See Also:
