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Honeywell Technologies

Industrial AutomationFounded 1906
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

Honeywell: CEO History

4 leaders · 1999 to present

Who is the CEO of Honeywell?

Vimal Kapur is the CEO of Honeywell, in the role since 2023. The first chief executive was Michael R. Bonsignore, from 1999.

Current CEO
Vimal Kapur (since 2023)
First CEO
Michael R. Bonsignore (1999)
Leaders documented
4
Founded
1906
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Vimal KapurChairman and Chief Executive Officer2023Present3
Darius AdamczykFormer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer201720236
David M. CoteChairman and CEO2002201715
Michael R. BonsignoreChairman and Chief Executive Officer199920012
Who was CEO of Honeywell before Vimal Kapur?
Darius Adamczyk was CEO of Honeywell from 2017 to 2023, before Vimal Kapur took over in 2023.

Company Overview

Honeywell is no longer the sprawling aerospace-to-chemicals conglomerate most people remember. Since mid-2026, the HON ticker represents Honeywell Technologies, an automation company that makes the controls, sensors, safety systems, and software behind commercial buildings, refineries, LNG terminals, and factories. Jet engines and avionics now belong to Honeywell Aerospace (HONA), refrigerants belong to Solstice (SOLS), and Quantinuum trades as QNT. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Vimal Kapur

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2023 – Present

3 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Kapur, born in India in 1965, joined a Honeywell joint venture in 1989 as an electronics engineer and rose entirely through internal roles over more than three decades -- Managing Director of Honeywell Automation India (2006), VP of Global Marketing and Strategy for Honeywell Process Solutions (2010), President of Honeywell Process Solutions (2014-2018, through the oil-and-gas downturn), President and CEO of Honeywell Building Technologies (2018), President and CEO of Honeywell Performance Materials & Technologies (2021), and President and COO of Honeywell (July 2022) before becoming CEO on June 1, 2023, succeeding Darius Adamczyk. In February 2025 he announced the plan to split Honeywell into three independent public companies: Aerospace, Solstice Advanced Materials, and automation-focused Honeywell Technologies.

Legacy

Kapur is notable among major American industrial CEOs for reaching the top of a Fortune 500 company without a MBA or an US university degree. He has said Honeywell was already preparing the three-way breakup roughly a year before activist investor Elliott Management publicly called for it in November 2024, and by mid-2026 he had completed both the Solstice spin-off (October 2025) and the Aerospace spin-off (June 2026), the most significant restructuring in the company's history.

Source →

Darius Adamczyk

Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2017 – 2023

6 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Adamczyk became President and CEO in 2017 and added Chairman in 2018. In October 2018 he launched Honeywell Connected Enterprise, then built it into Honeywell Forge, a cloud-based industrial IoT platform he called the company's number-one strategic priority, aimed at turning Honeywell from a hardware maker into a business that also sells recurring software and data-analytics contracts across aircraft, buildings, plants, and industrial workers.

Legacy

Adamczyk oversaw $7.5 billion in strategic divestitures to modernize Honeywell's portfolio and built the software-and-services strategy that his successor, Vimal Kapur, used as the technical foundation for the 2025-2026 three-way breakup -- the Forge platform remained central to Honeywell Technologies' recurring-revenue pitch after the Aerospace and Solstice separations.

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David M. Cote

Chairman and CEO

2002 – 2017

15 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Cote became chief executive of Honeywell in 2002 and led a focus on operating margins and acquisitions in aerospace and building technologies.

Legacy

Under Cote Honeywell grew its market value and margins, and he handed the chief executive role to Darius Adamczyk in 2017.

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Michael R. Bonsignore

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1999 – 2001

2 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Bonsignore, who had led the old Honeywell since 1993, became chief executive of the combined company after the 1999 merger with AlliedSignal.

Legacy

He agreed in 2000 to sell the company to General Electric. European regulators blocked the deal in July 2001 and he was replaced by Lawrence Bossidy.

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Challenges & Strategic Context

Honeywell's challenges are proving the pure-play automation thesis after four separations in under a year, cyclical exposure to construction and energy capex, a short reported track record for the new perimeter, and competition from Siemens, Schneider Electric, ABB, Emerson, Johnson Controls, and Rockwell Automation.

Honeywell CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who have been the notable chief executives in Honeywell's modern corporate history?

Notable modern CEOs of Honeywell include Michael Bonsignore (1993 to 2001), David M. Cote (2002 to 2017), Darius Adamczyk (2017 to 2023), and current Chairman & CEO Vimal Kapur (2023, present).

How did David M. Cote transform Honeywell into an industrial leader?

David M. Cote (CEO 2002 to 2017) executed one of the most celebrated corporate turnarounds in industrial history. He unified fractured legacy acquisitions, created the Honeywell Operating System (HOS) for lean manufacturing, expanded operating margins from 8% to over 16%, and delivered a 600%+ total shareholder return.

What strategic milestones defined Darius Adamczyk's tenure as CEO?

Darius Adamczyk (CEO 2017 to 2023) accelerated Honeywell's transformation into a software-industrial leader. He launched the Honeywell Forge enterprise software platform, completed the strategic spin-offs of Resideo and Garrett Motion, spearheaded major investments in Solstice sustainability refrigerants, and formed Quantinuum.

What is Vimal Kapur's background and strategic agenda as CEO of Honeywell?

Vimal Kapur became CEO in June 2023 and Chairman in June 2024 after 35 years at Honeywell, having successfully led Honeywell Building Technologies, Performance Materials and Technologies, and served as COO. His agenda focuses on portfolio simplification, accelerating M&A around aerospace and automation megatrends, and scaling high-margin software.

What was the failed merger between General Electric and Honeywell in 2001?

In 2000, General Electric under Jack Welch agreed to acquire Honeywell for $45 billion. However, in July 2001, European Union antitrust regulators led by Mario Monti blocked the merger due to competition concerns in aerospace engine and avionics bundling, leaving Honeywell to restructure as an independent firm under David Cote.

How does Honeywell's executive compensation structure align with shareholder value?

Honeywell's executive compensation heavily weights performance-based restricted stock units (RSUs) and options tied to multi-year total shareholder return (TSR), segment operating margin expansion, return on invested capital (ROIC), and cash-flow generation targets.

What role does the Honeywell Accelerator operating system play in CEO execution?

Honeywell Accelerator serves as the CEO's primary operational management system, embedding standardized digital workflows, product management frameworks, supply chain optimization tools, and pricing excellence algorithms across all corporate divisions.

How does Honeywell manage board governance and leadership succession planning?

Honeywell's Board of Directors maintains a rigorous, multi-year executive succession framework. By rotating high-potential senior executives through diverse global business units and COO roles, Honeywell consistently promotes CEOs from within its proven executive ranks.

Who is the CEO of Honeywell?

Vimal Kapur serves as CEO. However, the absolute legend of the company is David Cote (CEO from 2002 to 2017). When Cote took over, Honeywell was heavily distressed after a failed merger with GE. He ruthlessly unified the toxic corporate culture, instituted massive cost controls, and successfully increased the company's market cap from $20B to over $100B.

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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.