TROY—The auto supplier Meritor Inc. (NYSE: MTOR) announced several executive appointments effective March 1.
The appointments occur as aresult of the previously announced move of Jay Craig, president and CEO, to executive board chairman effective Feb. 28, with Chris Villavarayan, executive vice president and COO, will succeed Craig as CEO and president, and a director on the company’s board.
The new appointments include Tim Bowes as senior vice president and president of industrial and North American aftermarket operations, reporting to Villavarayan. He rejoined Meritor in 2020 after serving as president of American Axle’s casting business until 2019 and its vice president of strategy and business development before that. Prior to joining American Axle, he was CEO and president at Transtar Corp.. From 2005-2013, he served in various executive positions at Meritor that included vice president of commercial truck, vice president of industrial, and vice president and managing director of Meritor’s Asia-Pacific business. Bowes holds an MBA from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence Technological University.
Also, Ken Hogan was appointed senior vice president and president of truck, Europe and Asia Pacific businesses, also reporting to Villavarayan. Hogan has been with Meritor since 2008. Most recently, he was vice president of the company’s truck business in China, Japan and the ASEAN nations, and currently resides near the company’s manufacturing operation in Italy. Prior to joining Meritor, Hogan held leadership positions with Detroit Diesel Corp. and worked for Booz Allen Hamilton’s automotive and industrial practice. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Also, John Nelligan was appointed senior vice president and president of truck, Americas, reporting to Villavarayan. Prior to this position, Nelligan was group vice president of the company’s truck business in North America and before that led the company’s sales and service division. Before joining Meritor in 2010, Nelligan was a dealer principal and partner at Harper Truck Centres Inc. in Canada after spending nine years at Western Star Trucking and Daimler Trucks North America. He has a bachelor’s degree from Brock University in Canada.
The company also announced that Tim Heffron, senior vice president of human resources and CIO, will be leaving the company at the end of February.
“We appreciate Tim’s 12 years of service to Meritor, during which time he successfully led the IS team through several complex integrations, greatly improved cost efficiencies and played an important role in enhancing Meritor’s culture, resulting in notably high levels of employee engagement and business success,” said Jay Craig, CEO and president. “Tim has been an important partner to me and the entire management team, and we wish him all the best.”
As part of this transition, Ryan Olivier was appointed vice president and CIO, reporting to Carl Anderson, senior vice president and CFO. He will have overall responsibility for the strategy, development and deployment of company technology and infrastructure that support business objectives. Olivier began his career with Meritor in 2001 and has held various roles with increasing responsibilities in purchasing, supply chain and information systems. Most recently, he served as vice president of global IS business solutions and service delivery. He has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from Oakland University.
Also, Darrell Whitney was appointed vice president and chief human resources officer and will report directly to Villavarayan. He will have overall responsibility for managing human resource strategies to support business objectives, compensation and benefits, training and development, recruitment and staffing, and diversity and inclusion. Whitney joined Meritor in 2008 as director of procurement. In 2016, he joined HR, where he held positions of increasing responsibility. Whitney has a bachelor’s degree from Oakland University and an MBA from the University of Detroit Mercy.
Meritor manufactures drivetrain, mobility, braking, aftermarket and electric powertrain solutions for commercial vehicle and industrial markets, with 8,600 employees working in manufacturing plants, engineering centers, joint ventures, distribution centers and offices in 19 countries. More at www.meritor.com.