David M. Cote (born July 19, 1952) is an American businessman. Cote previously worked for
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
and
TRW Inc.
TRW Inc., was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, automotive, and credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-History.html TRW Inc. It was a pioneer ...
Beetz, Kirk H. "Cote, David M. 1952–." ''International Directory of Business Biographies''. Ed. Neil Schlager. Vol. 1. Detroit: St. James Press, 2005. 323–24. before he was appointed chairman and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) of
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
in 2002, following their acquisition by
AlliedSignal
AlliedSignal was an American aerospace, automotive and engineering company created through the 1985 merger of Allied Corp. and Signal Companies. It subsequently purchased Honeywell for $14.8 billion in 1999, and thereafter adopted the Honeywell n ...
. Cote also sat on the
JP Morgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the wo ...
risk committee during the period in which the firm lost $6 billion trading credit derivatives. Cote stepped down as CEO at Honeywell at the end of March 2017 and was succeeded by
Darius Adamczyk
Darius Adamczyk (born February 8, 1966) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Honeywell, an American multinational conglomerate.
Early life and education
Adamczyk was born in Poland on February 8, 196 ...
. Cote is currently the executive chairman of
Vertiv
Vertiv is an American, Ohio-based, provider of equipment and services for data centers.
Platinum Equity acquired the Emerson Network Power business from Emerson Electric in a transaction valued in excess of $4 billion, completed in December 20 ...
.
Early life
Cote was born in
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644.
Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...
and graduated from
Pembroke Academy
Pembroke Academy is a public secondary school in Pembroke, New Hampshire.
History
Pembroke Academy was incorporated on June 25, 1818, as a private school, and on May 25, 1819, the first building was dedicated. The academy opened with 48 students o ...
in
Pembroke, New Hampshire
Pembroke is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,207 at the 2020 census. Pembroke includes part of the village of Suncook. The center of population of New Hampshire is close to the Pembroke town center.
...
in 1970. The following year, Cote enrolled at the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
, and while attending UNH full-time, he worked an hourly job on the night shift at a nearby GE jet engine plant. In 1976, he graduated from the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
with a bachelor's degree in
business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
.
Career
General Electric
Cote joined
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
full-time in November 1976, and worked there for more than twenty years. He transitioned from his hourly production work at the
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
aircraft-engine plant in New Hampshire to a full-time auditing job at another GE plant in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. In 1985, his handling of an interaction with CEO
Jack Welch
John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001.
When Welch retired from GE, he receive ...
became the catalyst for Cote's advancement at GE. Welch promoted Cote three levels of management. Over his career there, he held positions in manufacturing, finance, marketing, strategic planning and general management, before becoming CEO of GE Appliances in 1996.
TRW
In November 1999, Cote joined TRW as president and COO where he introduced the Six Sigma management system to reduce defects in manufacturing. In February 2001, Cote was appointed CEO, and later chairman of the board. Cote led the creation of the TRW subsidiary Velocium, which manufactured ultra-high-speed semiconductors.
In February 2002, Cote announced he would be leaving TRW. Reportedly, the news surprised employees and some executives, who learned of Cote's departure hours before the announcement.
Honeywell
Honeywell selected Cote as successor to
Lawrence Bossidy
Lawrence Arthur "Larry" Bossidy (born March 5, 1935) is an American author and retired businessman. He served as CEO of AlliedSignal (later Honeywell) in the 1990s, prior to which he spent more than 30 years rising through executive positions at ...
, following the
AlliedSignal
AlliedSignal was an American aerospace, automotive and engineering company created through the 1985 merger of Allied Corp. and Signal Companies. It subsequently purchased Honeywell for $14.8 billion in 1999, and thereafter adopted the Honeywell n ...
acquisition of Honeywell and
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
's rejection of Honeywell's merger with General Electric. Cote was elected CEO, president, and a member of the board of directors on February 19, 2002. He was elected chairman of the board on July 1, 2002.
The year Cote took office, Honeywell lost $220 million. Cote instituted conservative accounting to streamline costs. In an effort to reduce the unpredictability of asbestos-plus-environmental expenses, Honeywell established a trust for claims and reclaim soil at chemical plants. As a result, that expense is consistently $150 million a year, after-tax. Honeywell saw improved quality in design, increased production, and lower production costs after it implemented a new productivity management system. During the 2008-2009 recession, the company instituted furloughs to reduce overall operating costs rather than lay off workers.While CEO of Honeywell International in 2015, Cote earned a total compensation of US$25,053,000 which included a base salary of $1,890,000, an annual bonus of $5,700,000, and $10,338,000 in stock options. During his tenure at Honeywell, the company's donations via its Political Action Committee rose from two hundred thousand dollars in 2002 to 8 million in 2014. Under Cote’s leadership, Honeywell’s market capitalisation grew from $20 billion to $120 billion, delivering returns of about 800%, outperforming the S&P 500 by two and a half times.
Cote stepped down as CEO at Honeywell at the end of March 2017 and was succeeded by
Darius Adamczyk
Darius Adamczyk (born February 8, 1966) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Honeywell, an American multinational conglomerate.
Early life and education
Adamczyk was born in Poland on February 8, 196 ...
. Cote continued as executive chairman through April 2018.
Vertiv
Since February 7, 2020, Cote has been the executive chairman of
Vertiv
Vertiv is an American, Ohio-based, provider of equipment and services for data centers.
Platinum Equity acquired the Emerson Network Power business from Emerson Electric in a transaction valued in excess of $4 billion, completed in December 20 ...
.
Appointments
Banking
Cote was a member of the board of directors at
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
and an advisor to
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
(KKR). In 2012, Cote came under criticism as one of the three members of JP Morgan Chase's risk committee, after CEO
Jamie Dimon
James Dimon (; born March 13, 1956) is an American billionaire businessman and banker who has been the chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase – the largest of the big four American banks – since 2005. Dimon was previously on ...
said on May 10, 2012, that the firm's chief investment office suffered a $2 billion loss trading credit derivatives. Commentators identified a lack of relevant expertise among the members of the committee, identifying Cote and a museum official who also served, in particular for their lack of banking experience.
In February 2014 it was announced that Cote would fill a vacancy on the board of the
New York Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...
. Simon Johnson, former chief economist of the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
, writing in ''The New York Times'', raised doubts about the suitability of Cote's appointment, noting the "systematic breakdown of compliance and risk control" during the period when Cote was on the board of JPMorgan Chase, whilst also noting that some, but not all, of the problems there pre-dated Cote's appointment. The election papers did not mention Cote's role at JPMorgan Chase in his candidate C.V. Cote stepped down from the board of New York Federal Reserve in March 2018.
Government
In 2010, President Obama named Cote as one of the chief executives he most admired. In 2009, Cote was invited to the White House to meet the President for a briefing on the US economic recovery plan and in November 2009, he was one of 12 businesspeople asked by the White House to host the US-India CEO Forum, which Cote and
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata, GBE (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also the chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, serving also as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. ...
co-chaired. In February 2010, Cote was selected by President Obama to be on the
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Simpson–Bowles or Bowles–Simpson from the names of co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles; or NCFRR) was a bipartisan Presidential Commission on deficit reduction, ...
, more commonly known as the Simpson Bowles Commission.
Cote is a co-founder of Fix the Debt, a group of executives and former legislators who campaign for deficit reduction and
tax reform
Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxatio ...
. In a 2013 interview with the ''
New Hampshire Union Leader
The ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' is a daily newspaper from Manchester, the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. On Sundays, it publishes as the ''New Hampshire Sunday News.''
Founded in 1863, the paper was best known for the conse ...
'', Cote identified the problem of debt reduction in the United States as being the fact that "Washington is ruled by fear of voters ... and the three 'h's' prevail—hysteria, histrionics and hyperbole". He also framed the options for deficit reduction in terms of either increases in taxes or a reduction in social security benefits, saying, "If you have people saying, 'Don't raise my taxes, but don't cut my benefits,' it makes it really difficult to get anything done."
In 2013, during negotiations over the Federal deficit during which some Republicans threatened a default, one lobbyist was quoted as identifying "the rise of an ideological wing ithin the Republican Partythat is now willing to stand up to business interests". Cote was quoted as saying "It's clearly this faction within the Republican Party that's causing the issue right now" which was interpreted by OpenSecrets.org as an implied threat that if the dissident Republicans did not co-operate, contributions from Honeywell's Political Action Committee could be cut. In 2012, Honeywell's PAC and employees made political donations of about $5.3 million to candidates and committees.
In March 2014, Cote presented his views on deficit reduction and American competitiveness to the
House Committee on Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees t ...
of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.
Books
* ''Winning Now, Winning Later'' (HarperCollins Leadership, 31 July 2020)
Awards
* 2013-2016 World's Best CEOs, Barron's
* 2013 Chief Executive of the Year, Chief Executive Magazine
* 2014
Horatio Alger Award
The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphas ...