After 36 years, Jim Fier, vice president and chief technical officer at Cummins Inc., will retire at the end of March.
“I am grateful for Jim’s leadership and friendship and his commitment to delivering on our brand promise to our customers, advocacy in building our global technical capability and advancing our diversity, equity and inclusion work,” said Jennifer Rumsey, president and CEO, of Cummins Inc. “His legacy at Cummins will be felt for many years to come.”
Fier spent his entire career at Cummins, starting off as a service engineer. He served as chief technical officer since 2019.
Rumsey said the company needed someone special to fill Fier's shoes.
“Given the significance of this role,” Rumsey said, “we have been working for quite some time on a thoughtful and planned transition.”
That search led to Jonathan Wood, vice president of new power engineering. He will succeed Fier, effective April 1. He has been with Cummins since 1994.
“His leadership of simulation-based product development has bolstered Cummins’ ability to develop products that address the critical needs of our customers, meet the more stringent requirements of emissions, and position the company to lead during the energy transition,” a company press release said.
Wood started off in Cummins' turbo technologies aftermarket and service team.
“Wood is a skilled and collaborative leader and strategic thinker and these attributes led to Cummins’ successful components business effort to meet Global VI emissions regulations,” the press release said.
Wood is known for his collaborative style, technical ability and customer skills. He was based in Wuxi, China, and now in the United Kingdom, fostering a global perspective.
Wood has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Sheffield. He also is a chartered engineer the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Cummins, a power company, has headquarters in Columbus and offers sales and services in Crown Point, Plymouth and Mishawaka. The more than 100-year-old company employs almost 60,000 people.
