United Technologies' New Acting CFO Gets a Chance to Audition for Postmerger Role
October 22 2019 - 4:01PM
Dow Jones News
By Nina Trentmann
United Technologies Corp. hired an acting finance chief ahead of
its planned $135 billion merger with Raytheon Co., an appointment
that could be an audition for an executive role at the combined
company.
Farmington, Conn.-based United Technologies said Tuesday that
Neil Mitchill, the CFO of aerospace engine maker Pratt &
Whitney -- a United Technologies subsidiary -- will run United
Technologies' finance department until the Raytheon transaction
closes. Mr. Mitchill would replace Akhil Johri, who plans to step
down from United Technologies on Nov. 1, after nearly five years in
the role, Chief Executive Greg Hayes said on a call with
analysts.
The Raytheon deal is expected to close next year. When it does,
the top finance role at Raytheon Technologies, the combined
company, will be taken over by Raytheon CFO Anthony F. O'Brien,
Raytheon said in September.
Mr. Mitchill's experience as an interim could set him up for a
permanent executive role under Mr. O'Brien, analysts said. "One
could imagine them promoting him to a deputy CFO role at the
combined entity," said Josh Sullivan, a managing director at
Seaport Global Securities LLC, an investment bank.
Establishing Mr. Mitchill as a potential contender for future
finance roles at the combined company would be in line with
previous internal promotions at United Technologies, Mr. Sullivan
said. Mr. Johri, the outgoing CFO, served in various finance
positions before he was promoted to the top job in January
2015.
The role as acting CFO would give Mr. Mitchill more exposure to
analysts and investors and make him more familiar with a bigger
finance role, Mr. Sullivan said.
United Technologies declined to comment beyond Mr. Hayes's
remarks during the company's earnings call.
It isn't unusual for companies to use interim positions as
training ground for executives, recruiters said. CSX Corp. this
month made its interim CFO permanent, while eBay Inc. in September
appointed its finance head as interim CEO following the departure
of Devin Wenig.
The departure of Mr. Johri ahead of the completion of the
Raytheon merger could point toward him preparing for a new role at
another industrial company, said Nick Heymann, co-head of the
global industrial infrastructure group at William Blair & Co.,
an investment bank.
As an interim CFO at United Technologies, Mr. Mitchill is
expected to be involved in completing the planned spinoff of
Carrier Global Corp., a heating-and-cooling systems business, and
of Otis Elevator Co., a maker of elevators and escalators, analysts
said.
"A lot of what Mr. Mitchill will be doing is predetermined,"
said Carter Copeland, president at Melius Research LLC, a research
company.
Write to Nina Trentmann at Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 22, 2019 15:46 ET (19:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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