3M: CEO History

Roman announced in December 2022 that 3M would exit PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025, and separated the health care unit into Solventum. He handed the CEO role to William Brown on May 1, 2024 and became executive chairman.

Thulin expanded the personal safety business through the Capital Safety (fall protection, 2015) and Scott Safety (breathing apparatus, 2017) acquisitions, both priced at total enterprise value.

Buckley made the key decision to adopt a hybrid management approach, retaining Six Sigma for manufacturing but removing it from R&D to restore creative freedom. He actively decided to increase R&D spending to encourage discontinuous, long-term innovation. Buckley outlined a four-part strategy focusing on core growth, strategic acquisitions, emerging opportunities, and international expansion. During the 2008 downturn, he notably chose to minimize layoffs through temporary pay cuts and furloughs, prioritizing the protection of 3M's core workforce.

McNerney applied Six Sigma programs to research and manufacturing and tightened cost controls. Robert S. Morrison served as interim CEO in 2005 after his departure.

In his first year, Lehr made the strategic decision to reorganize 3M's vast operations into four distinct divisions to streamline focus. He prioritized heavy R&D investments, specifically targeting healthcare products which yielded numerous successful innovations. Lehr decided to expand signature brands like Post-it Notes and Scotch Tape into international markets. He consistently reinforced 3M's entrepreneurial culture, encouraging employees to act as internal entrepreneurs and take ownership of their ideas despite some structural resistance.

McKnight made the crucial decision to decentralize management, arguing that a growing business must delegate responsibility. In 1948, he implemented his 'Basic Rule of Management' prioritizing individual initiative. He explicitly decided to tolerate honest mistakes to foster innovation, famously remarking on the high cost of being destructively critical. Most notably, he introduced the 15% rule to allow employees creative freedom, and prioritized heavy early investments in research functions to transition 3M into an innovation leader.