CLEVELAND—Eaton Corp. P.L.C. is preparing for the retirement of Chairman and CEO Alexander M. Cutler in May 2016 with a number of senior leadership appointments.
The firm has appointed Craig Arnold to the role of president and chief operating officer and member of the firm's board of directors, effective Sept. 1. Arnold will then be promoted to chairman and CEO of Eaton on June 1, 2016, after Cutler retires.
Cutler has been the firm's chairman and CEO since August 2000 and will reach Eaton's mandatory CEO retirement age of 65.
“Our entire board wishes to congratulate Craig on his promotion and to thank (Cutler) for his ongoing outstanding leadership and strategic vision,” Ned C. Lautenbach, the lead director for the firm's board of directors, said in a June 16 news release.
Arnold has been vice chairman, president and chief operating officer of the Industrial Sector since 2009, with additional leadership responsibility for the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions. He joined Eaton in 2000 as senior vice president and group executive of the Fluid Power Group. Prior to that, Arnold held multiple senior leadership positions with General Electric in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
“We are fortunate to have an extraordinary leader in Craig Arnold, who has a rich history of experience and achievement at Eaton,” Cutler said in the news release. “He is uniquely qualified to lead our company to continued success as a global power management company.”
The firm made three other appointments, first appointing Richard H. Fearon to the board of directors effective Sept. 1. He will continue to serve as chief financial and planning officer, a position he's held since 2002, and vice chairman of Eaton.
Revathi Avaithi will be appointed chief operating officer, Electrical Sector, to replace Thomas S. Gross, who is retiring. Avaithi joined Eaton in 1995 as manufacturing supervisor at the firm's Shawnee, Okla., facility and currently holds the role of president, Electrical Americas region.
Uday Yadav will succeed Arnold as the chief operating officer, Industrial Sector, effective Sept. 1 and will also have corporate responsibility for the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions. Yadav joined the firm in 1994 and is currently the president of the firm's Aerospace Group.
Eaton is a global power management company with 2014 sales of $22.6 billion. Headquartered in Dublin, the firm employs about 102,000 people globally.