Following a period of uncertainty as the company attempted to make its EGR-only engine solution work to meet EPA 2010 emissions guidelines, Navistar International Corp. chairman, president & CEO Daniel C. Ustian announced his retirement, effective immediately.
The Navistar board of directors announced this morning that Lewis B. Campbell, former chairman, president & CEO of Textron, will replace Ustian, who is also giving up his spot on the board of directors. Troy A. Clarke, who joined the company in 2010 and was named president of Truck and Engine operations earlier this year, has been promoted to president and COO.
“Lewis Campbell is a high-caliber executive who brings to Navistar deep and broad strategic, technical and operational skills and a proven track record of leadership with global industrial companies – including 24 years of experience in product design, engineering and manufacturing in General Motors’ automotive, trucking and component businesses and 17 years in senior leadership positions at Textron including more than 10 years as chairman, president & CEO. We are very pleased to have him join the team,” said Michael N. Hammes, Navistar’s independent lead director. “We are also pleased to promote Troy Clarke to president & COO in recognition of the significant contributions he has made in challenging assignments since joining the company in early 2010. Our board and management are aligned around a clear path forward, and we are confident that under the leadership of Lewis and Troy, Navistar will make continuing progress in executing its near-term strategic priorities, driving growth and creating shareholder value.”
Campbell, 66, led Textron, a $12 billion industrial company, as chairman from 1999 through 2010. He also served as CEO from 1998 through 2009 and as president for most of the period from 1994 through 2009, Navistar said. Prior to joining Textron at COO in 1992, Campbell spent 24 years at General Motors, serving a variety of roles, including vice president and general manager for the Flint Automotive Division for Buick/Oldsmobile/Cadillac, as well as vice president and general manager-GMC Truck.
“I am honored to join the board of Navistar in the new role of executive chairman and to serve as CEO,” Campbell said. “I look forward to working with Navistar’s strong leadership team and talented employees, as we continue to take steps to provide dealers and customers with best-in-class products, enhance the company’s competitive position, and build on Navistar’s platform for generating profitable growth. At the appropriate time, we will conduct a search for a long-term CEO, which will include internal and external candidates.”
Clarke served as president of Navistar’s Asia Pacific operations before being named president of Truck and Engine. He joined Navistar in 2010 as senior vice president-strategic initiatives.
In the transition to meeting EPA 2010, Navistar decided on a path that focused on using EGR only and a combination of emissions credits built up in previous years to sell engines. By late last year, though, it was becoming clear that the company was running short on credits and had yet to receive EPA certification for its MaxxForce engines.
The EPA put forth a final rule that would allow Navistar to pay non-conformance penalties until its engines were certified, but that was challenged in court by competitors and eventually tossed out by a judge. The EPA has since sent a second rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is currently reviewing the rule.
Navistar recently announced it would be selling Cummins ISX 15L engines starting in January and also purchasing aftertreatment systems from Cummins and adding SCR to its MaxxForce engines next year.
“We appreciate Dan’s many contributions and accomplishments during his 37-year career at Navistar,” Hammes said. “Under his leadership, Navistar’s revenue grew from approximately $7.7 billion to approximately $14 billion as the company significantly expanded its global reach and diversified its product portfolio, including the addition of Navistar’s military business. We thank Dan for his dedicated service and wish him all the best in the future.”
