July 26, 2007 -- Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) has announced that its current chief executive officer (CEO), John M. Barth, will retire as of 31 December 2007, with the company’s current executive vice-president and vice-chairman, Stephen A. Roell, 57, succeeding him. Roell will become CEO on 1 October 2007 and assume the chairmanship of the board of directors on 1 January 2008. Barth will continue to serve on that same board. Before being appointed executive vice-president in 2004 and vice-chairman in 2005, Roell was JCI’s senior vice-president and chief financial officer (CFO) from 1991 to 1994. He will become JCI’s eighth CEO in the supplier’s 123-year history. In a separate move, the company has also announced a three-for-one stock split, which becomes effective on 2 October 2007.Significance: The transition to Roell’s leadership is likely to be seamless, given his 25 years of experience at the company.
Significant changes to JCI’s strategy and performance are unlikely, with the management building on Barth’s legacy of diversifying the company further away from automotive activities. During Barth’s 2002-07 tenure as CEO at JCI, company sales have risen from US$20 billion to an expected US$34.5 billion in 2007, and market capitalisation has risen from US$7 billion to US$22.4 billion.
Source: Global Insight Daily Analysis
Source: Factiva
