CNH Industrial Looking For New CEO-Update

CNH Industrial has begun the search for a new CEO. The company said the CNH Industrial N. V. board of directors reached a unanimous decision and accepted the resignation of Hubertus Mühlhäuser as chief executive officer. Mühlhäuser has left the group with “immediate effect,” CNH said.

CNH Industrial announced that Suzanne Heywood has been named acting chief executive officer, in addition to her role as chair of the board, to lead the business through this current unprecedented period and until a new permanent CEO has been identified.

Mühlhäuser was named CEO in mid-2018. The company almost immediately began a wide range of reorganizations, acquisitions and partnerships. (See “The Changing Face of CNH” elsewhere on this website).

Heywood, who is also managing director of Exor, CNH Industrial’s largest shareholder, has been chair of CNH Industrial since July 2018. Prior to joining Exor, she was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company where she led the firm’s Global Organization Design business prior to which she worked in the UK Treasury. In her combined role, she will chair the Group’s Global Executive Committee.

The CNH board also unanimously agreed on the appointment of Oddone Incisa as chief financial officer (CFO), in addition to his current role as president, Financial Services. Incisa began his career with the Fiat Group in 1997 at Fiat Bank in Germany, and in 2001 was named chief financial officer of Banco Fiat, Brazil. In 2003 he was appointed Head of Financial Planning & Analysis, Fidis Retail and FGA Capital, Italy, and in 2008 was nominated CFO, CNH Capital, based in the U.S. From 2011 to 2013 Incisa held the position of chief executive officer and general manager, FGA Capital (now FCA Bank).
Incisa succeeds Max Chiara, outgoing chief financial and sustainability officer, who will remain available to support the new CFO’s transition over the next two weeks when Chiara will leave CNH Industrial to take up a new position.

UPDATE: After the information above was released, CNH issued the following, unusual statement the following day.

“In response to a request from Borsa Italiana (the Italian Stock Exchange), CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) confirms that Hubertus Mühlhäuser resigned as CEO of CNH Industrial to pursue other interests. While Mr. Mühlhäuser offered to assist the Company while it searched for a successor, the Board determined that the Company had access to appropriate experience and skills and decided therefore to accept his resignation with immediate effect.”