Good morning. CFO transitions continue this year with one of the latest moves happening at Honeywell International Inc.
Mike Stepniak, who currently serves as VP and CFO for Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, was promoted to CFO of Honeywell, the company announced on Thursday. Stepniak will succeed Greg Lewis as SVP and chief financial officer after Honeywell announces its final financial results for 2024. From Oct. 7 until the CFO transition, Stepniak will serve as VP of corporate finance, according to an SEC filing.
Stepniak joined Honeywell in 2020 and was previously CFO for Honeywell Building Technologies. Before coming to the company he spent nearly 20 years with General Electric and Baker Hughes.
The software industrial giant, a Fortune 500 company, is headquartered in Charlotte. It operates four business segments: aerospace technologies, industrial automation, building automation, and energy and sustainability solutions.
Lewis joined Honeywell in 2006 and has held a series of finance leadership roles, before becoming CFO in 2018. After stepping down as finance chief, he will take on the role of SVP of Honeywell Accelerator, and serve as a senior advisor to chairman and CEO Vimal Kapur. Accelerator is Honeywell’s operating system that standardizes work across its four main business units: products, aftermarket services, projects, and software, according to the company.
“We are transforming how we run Honeywell through the latest version of our Honeywell Accelerator operating system,” Kapur said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on July 25. The tool is proving to be “a powerful source of profitable growth" across its businesses in areas like M&A integration, he said.
"I'm proud of the transformation we have driven over my tenure at Honeywell, particularly these past eight years,” Lewis said in a statement. His taking on a new role at the company reflects a trend of greater CFO turnover.
The rate of finance chiefs retiring, changing companies for a CFO role, or moving into new executive positions increased in the first half of 2024, according to leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates' Global CFO Turnover index. Taking a look at H1, from Jan. 1 to June 30, CFO turnover reached 8.9% globally, outpacing levels in 2022 and 2023. In H1 2023, turnover reached 8.3%, while the number for the same period in 2022 was 8.5%. Another finding is that more than half (54%) of companies on the S&P 500 had outgoing CFOs retire or move to new roles, according to the findings.
During his time as CFO, Lewis “played an instrumental role” in leading the business, including aligning the company’s portfolio around “three powerful megatrends,” which are automation, the future of aviation, and energy transition, according to Kapur. Since becoming CEO last year, Kapur has aligned Honeywell’s portfolio around those areas. In July, Honeywell announced the acquisition of Air Products’ liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment business for $1.8 billion. It’s his fourth major acquisition in eight months, Fortune reported.
Generative AI has cascaded across Honeywell internally. But the real strategic benefits of AI will come from integrating the technology into Honeywell’s offerings to its customers, Kapur recently told my Fortune colleague Jeremy Kahn.
Honeywell’s earnings for its second-quarter beat estimates with sales up 5% year over year, reaching $9.6 billion. Earnings per share for the quarter were $2.36, up 6% year over year, and adjusted earnings per share was $2.49, up 8%. Revenue for the quarter rose 4.7% to $9.58 billion. The company downwardly revised its full-year guidance for earnings per share, segment margin, and cash flow.
Stepniak brings a "strong track record of driving profitable growth," Kapur said in a statement.
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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The following sections of CFO Daily were curated by Greg McKenna
