Jennifer Rumsey was the first female chief technology officer and first president and chief operating officer at Cummins Inc. Next week, she will become the $24 billion engine maker and power distribution company’s first female CEO. She is just the seventh in the company’s 103 years.
Should gender still matter or be mentioned in such appointments? Female leaders are becoming more common in corporate America. And yet …
“The unfortunate reality is it is still newsworthy because I’m the first woman. I’ve now broken the glass ceilings that remained at Cummins,” Rumsey said in an interview with FreightWaves. “I want to be clear that I got this job because of who I am and my background and experience and what I bring to the role, not because I’m a woman.
Role models from anywhere
“My hope is that we won’t be writing stories about that for much longer and that I can continue to serve as a role model that you can come from anywhere, look like anybody, anything. It doesn’t really matter if you’re the right person for the job. There’s a place for people of all backgrounds and experiences in these senior roles.”
At 48, Rumsey succeeds the well-respected and popular Tom Linebarger. He will become executive chairman to conclude a $3.7 billion takeover of chassis and power system supplier Meritor Inc. During the July 14 succession news conference marking the end of his 11-year tenure as CEO, Linebarger called Rumsey a “once-in-a-generation” talent.
Rumsey is entering her third decade at the company founded in 1919 in the small Midwest city of Columbus, Indiana, where she was raised.
Rumsey earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She started her career at fuel cell startup Nuvera Fuel Cells, since acquired by Hyster-Yale.
She discussed her leadership philosophy and business priorities in a Zoom interview. Here are excerpts from that conversation, edited for clarity and space:
FREIGHTWAVES: Do you have any women CEOs with whom you’re in regular contact or with whom you discussed this position as your ascension became clear?
RUMSEY: “I have worked to start to expand my network. It’s still early days. Frankly, being at the top of a company can be lonely for anybody. I have sought to add some other women CEOs just to have people that I can talk to about being a woman in this role. I’ve talked with men, too, about how they’ve navigated CEO roles.”
FREIGHTWAVES: You have two daughters. Besides raising them, how active are you at mentoring female engineers at Cummins and outside the company?
RUMSEY: “I have always had a passion for investing in people. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in my career mentoring different people and certainly other women in STEM fields, whether it’s elementary, middle and high school students or other women in Cummins.
“One of the things I’ve recognized as I’ve mentored people is just like we want a diverse workforce at Cummins. It’s important for me to have a diverse group of individuals I mentor because I learn from them. So, while I can pass on some of my experience as a woman in engineering to other women in engineering fields, having that diverse group that you mentor is really important.”
FREIGHTWAVES: How active will Cummins be in speaking out on major societal issues under your leadership?
RUMSEY: “Increasingly there is pressure on companies to speak up in this world with a lot of change and disruption that we’re living in. Cummins has a long history of looking at our values and saying, ‘What are the issues where we should speak up?’ They’re important for our business. They’re important for our employees. And I, as the CEO, will continue to do that. It’s not about my personal view. It’s about values and creating an environment where our employees can grow and be supported.
“We also have been very active in encouraging our employees to vote and in creating mechanisms for them to vote so they can bring their personal voice into our political process.”
FREIGHTWAVES; Does Cummins have a formal or informal process for deciding when to speak out?
RUMSEY: “We have a very thoughtful process. Sometimes it does need to move quickly. We have key people we get together to examine issues. Our values [determine] our standing on the issue and where and how we should speak up.”
FREIGHTWAVES: Both you and Linebarger said it was not always your aspiration to become CEO. When did that change?
RUMSEY: “I rose to the chief technical officer role at Cummins, which I had really aspired to pretty early in my career. I always loved the intersection of the business, the customer and the technical aspects. It took reflection on where I wanted to go in my career and why. And it really was back to this motivation of purpose, people, impact.
“Our industry matters when we think about climate change and how we contribute to CO2. We have an ability to help navigate what’s going to be a complex change and make a difference to a lot of people’s lives as we do that. At the end of the day, I want my two daughters to have a healthy planet that they could continue to thrive and live on.”
FREIGHTWAVES: You and Tom Linebarger co-authored Cummins’ Destination Zero strategy. How do you plan to advance those goals as CEO?
RUMSEY: “Decarbonizing our industry requires starting today by reducing CO2 and engine-based solutions. We’re making big investments to do that and expect continued growth in that part of our business as well as accelerating advancement of technologies that will get us to zero, which is a focus on our ‘New Power’ business.”
FREIGHTWAVES: When you look back a year from now, what three things do you want to point to and say “OK, we really moved the ball here?”
RUMSEY: “First is connecting our employees to the ‘Destination Zero’ strategy so they really understand the role the entire business plays and that they are as motivated and inspired as I am by what Cummins is doing.
“Second, continue to deliver strong results. We have operated in a very challenging period of time as chief operating officer. I’ve led the team in navigating supply disruptions, COVID disruptions and continuing to operate successfully through that. Our team has stepped up and done very well in the midst of challenging circumstances.
“Third is positioning a very strong Cummins leadership team that I have for this next phase and getting us focused on where we’re going as a company.”
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