Honeywell CEO is having a sweet year
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Honeywell chairman and CEO Dave Cote has been named CEO of the Year by Chief Executive Magazine. Cote will be featured on the cover of the magazine’s July issue as well as on ChiefExecutive.net.
The award recognizes the transformation of Honeywell under Cote’s leadership throughout the past decade. During that time, Honeywell has increased sales by 71% to $37.7 billion and has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 during that timeframe.
Today, Honeywell is a global company, with 54% of sales coming from outside the U.S. versus 41% 10 years ago. Since 2003, Honeywell has made more than 75 acquisitions and 50 divestitures.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized as Chief Executive’s CEO of the Year,” said Cote, who was nominated by his peers. “I’m proud of Honeywell’s performance and the terrific returns we’ve provided our shareowners. We’ve transformed Honeywell into a global growth company, led by common initiatives, behaviors, and processes. Our ‘One Honeywell’ culture has been a powerful piece of our growth story because people are our ultimate differentiator. Our portfolio has evolved from a largely manufacturing base to today where half of our business comes from software development. Our focus on seed planting and re-investing in our businesses, products and services will continue because it’s working. We’ve achieved a lot throughout the past decade, but I’m even more excited about our future because the best is yet to come for Honeywell.”
Cote was appointed by President Obama to serve on both the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (commonly known as the Simpson-Bowles Commission) and the U.S.-India CEO Forum. He’s been a leading voice and Steering Committee member of the campaign to fix the debt and is widely quoted by top-tier media on how debt reduction must continue to be our top priority to grow the U.S. economy at a pace that will create new jobs. In addition to debt reduction, Cote’s outline for an American Competitiveness Agenda includes energy policy, free trade, infrastructure, math and science education and tort reform.
“Chief Executive Magazine is proud to recognize Dave as CEO of the Year,” said Bob Nardelli, founder and CEO of XLR-8 and a member of the magazine’s selection committee. “He has led a remarkable transformation at Honeywell, executing on a vision and rebuilding trust and credibility throughout the past decade. Not only is Dave a respected leader in the business community, but he is also a leading voice for business in Washington.”
Nominations for CEO of the Year were garnered from the magazine’s 124,000 readers. The 10 most frequently cited nominations were evaluated and a winner was voted upon by a peer Selection Committee consisting of CEOs from leading global corporations.
“Receiving the honor of CEO of the Year is very rewarding,” concluded Cote. “I’m confident that Honeywell’s future performance will further validate Chief Executive Magazine’s selection.”
Cote received the Corporate Social Responsibility Award from the Foreign Policy Association in 2007, the Distinguished Achievement Award from B’nai B’rith International in 2011, the Asia Society's Global Leadership Award in 2012 and the Peter G. Peterson Award for Business Statesmanship from the Committee for Economic Development in 2012. In 2013, Cote was recognized as one of the World’s Best CEOs by Barron’s magazine, and honored with the Corporate Leadership Award by the TechAmerica Foundation.
Cote’s selection as 2013 CEO of the Year will be celebrated at an event hosted by Chief Executive in partnership with NYSE at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, July 25.