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BorgWarner Inc.

Automotive Components & Propulsion SystemsFounded 1928
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded BorgWarner?

Charles S. Davis, George W. Borg · Founded 1928 · HQ today: Auburn Hills, Michigan

Who founded BorgWarner?

BorgWarner was founded by Charles S. Davis, George W. Borg in 1928. It is now led by Joseph F. Fadool.

Founders
Charles S. Davis, George W. Borg
Founded
1928
Headquarters
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Joseph F. Fadool (since 2025)
Where was BorgWarner founded?
BorgWarner was founded in Auburn Hills, Michigan in 1928.
When was BorgWarner founded?
BorgWarner was founded in 1928.
Who started BorgWarner?
BorgWarner was founded by Charles S. Davis and George W. Borg.
How old is BorgWarner?
BorgWarner is 98 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

In 1928 four Midwestern parts makers, Borg & Beck (clutches), Warner Gear (transmissions and differentials), Marvel-Schebler Carburetor and Mechanics Universal Joint, combined as Borg-Warner Corporation in Chicago. The logic was defensive: automakers could start making their own parts or switch suppliers at any time, and a bigger company could bargain better. George W. Borg became president and Charles S. Davis, who had built Warner Gear's standard-transmission business, became chairman; in March 1929 they swapped roles, and Davis ran the company until 1950. Davis let each division keep its own product development and sales, a loose federation that quickly added Morse Chain and others. Warner Gear developed the overdrive that Chrysler bought in 1934, and after World War II Borg-Warner built automatic transmissions for Ford.

Charles S. Davis

Co-founder 1928

Background

Charles S. Davis joined Warner Gear in Muncie, Indiana, as secretary-treasurer in 1919. When automakers began making more of their own parts after World War I, he proposed that Warner Gear design one standard transmission for many makes and win on volume and price; its T-64 became one of the most common transmissions in the United States.

Role at BorgWarner Inc.

Davis helped negotiate the 1928 merger of Borg & Beck, Warner Gear, Marvel-Schebler Carburetor and Mechanics Universal Joint into Borg-Warner Corporation and became its first chairman. In March 1929 he switched roles with George W. Borg and served as president until 1950. He ran Borg-Warner as a holding company that gave its divisions wide autonomy, added Morse Chain, Long Manufacturing and other parts makers in 1929, bought Detroit Gear and Machine for factory space (which brought the Norge refrigerator line with it), and in 1935 started the program that produced Borg-Warner's postwar automatic transmissions. He died in 1954. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

George W. Borg

Co-founder 1928

Background

George W. Borg was the son of Charles W. Borg, a Swedish immigrant who started Borg & Beck with Marshall Beck in Moline, Illinois. In 1910 George Borg and a company engineer invented a single-plate clutch, and by the time he succeeded his father as president in 1918, Borg & Beck had produced 200,000 clutches and was the leading U.S. clutch maker.

Role at BorgWarner Inc.

Borg was named the first president of Borg-Warner Corporation when the 1928 merger closed, then swapped roles with Charles S. Davis in March 1929 to pursue other interests, leaving Davis to run the company day to day. The Borg name stayed in the corporate title, alongside Warner Gear's, through the 1993 spin-off of Borg-Warner Automotive and the later adoption of the BorgWarner name. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

BorgWarner Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Joseph F. Fadool

President and Chief Executive Officer

2025 – Present

Fadool became President and CEO on February 6, 2025, after serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from July 2024. Since 2012 he has run several BorgWarner businesses, including Morse TEC, Morse Systems, Emissions and Thermal Systems, and Turbo Systems. Within weeks of taking over he decided to exit the EV charging business. In February 2026 he signed BorgWarner's first data center power deal, and the company stepped up share buybacks, with the board adding $1 billion to the repurchase authorization in 2026. He holds a BS in electrical engineering from Lawrence Technological University and an MS in computer and electronic controls from Wayne State University.

Frédéric Lissalde

President and Chief Executive Officer

2018 – 2025

Lissalde was CEO from August 1, 2018 until February 6, 2025, then stayed on as an adviser until August 30, 2025, retiring after 25 years with the company. He led the Delphi Technologies acquisition (completed 2020), launched the 2021 Charging Forward plan to raise EV revenue to about 45% by 2030, bought AKASOL, Santroll's e-motor unit and Rhombus, and completed the PHINIA spin-off in 2023. eProduct revenue reached $2.0 billion in 2023, though well short of the goal he set that year of more than $10 billion by 2027.

James R. Verrier

President and Chief Executive Officer

2013 – 2018

Verrier became CEO on January 1, 2013, after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer from March 2012. He chose to keep BorgWarner focused on propulsion rather than chase self-driving technology, and began its move into electric machines by acquiring Remy International in 2015 and Sevcon in 2017. He handed over to Lissalde in 2018.

Timothy M. Manganello

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2003 – 2012

Manganello led BorgWarner for about a decade before Verrier. In that time the company moved its headquarters from Chicago to the Detroit area in 2005, took control of German diesel-ignition supplier BERU and bought Haldex Traction Systems. It also expanded turbocharger and dual-clutch transmission production as automakers downsized engines.

Keep researching BorgWarner

Who Founded BorgWarner? FAQ

Who founded BorgWarner?

BorgWarner has no single founder. It was created in 1928 by merging Borg & Beck, Warner Gear, Marvel-Schebler Carburetor and Mechanics Universal Joint. George W. Borg was its first president and Charles S. Davis its first chairman; they swapped roles in March 1929.

Who was George W. Borg?

George W. Borg was the son of Charles W. Borg, who co-founded Borg & Beck in Moline, Illinois. In 1910 George Borg and a company engineer invented a single-plate clutch, and by 1918, when he became president, Borg & Beck had built 200,000 clutches.

Who was Charles S. Davis?

Charles S. Davis joined Warner Gear as secretary-treasurer in 1919 and pushed it to build one standard transmission for many car makers. After the 1928 merger he served as chairman, then as president of Borg-Warner from 1929 to 1950.

What was Warner Gear?

Warner Gear was founded in Muncie, Indiana, in 1901 around a differential designed by Tom and Harry Warner. In 1903 Ransom E. Olds ordered 4,000 of its differentials for the Oldsmobile.

What did Marvel-Schebler and Mechanics Universal Joint make?

Marvel-Schebler made carburetors and had supplied Buick since 1911. Mechanics Universal Joint, from Rockford, Illinois, supplied universal joints to Chevrolet.

Why did the four companies merge?

Automakers could start making their own parts or drop small suppliers at any time. Combining gave the four companies the size to bargain with carmakers, while each division kept its own engineering and sales.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.