Cummins’ Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Jim Fier will retire after a 36-year career with the company. Jonathan Wood, currently VP of new power engineering, will succeed Fier as CTO effective April 1.

Fier began his long Cummins career as a service engineer, then worked in current product support, and new product introduction, gaining broad technical knowledge and leadership experience, while accelerating the development and launch of the company’s engine platforms and innovations, Cummins officials said in a press release.

Serving as CTO since 2019, Fier has lead simulation-based product development allowed Cummins to meet stringent emissions requirements, and he and his global teams have led Cummins’ key initiatives to address the global climate crisis, including the company’s zero emissions strategy.

Cummins Names Jonathan Wood CTO

“Given the significance of this role, we have been working for quite some time on a thoughtful and planned transition,” said Cummins President and CEO Jennifer Rumsey.

Rumsey added: “[Woods’] technical leadership experiences in our components and new power businesses make him uniquely qualified for this role as we continue to advance our strategy and develop innovative technologies at the right time for our customers and enhance our technical workforce and capabilities.”

Wood, who is based in the United Kingdom, joined Cummins in 1994 as part of the Cummins Turbo Technologies (CTT) Aftermarket and Service team. His more recent roles include: executive director of engineering for turbo technologies at CTT, executive director of engineering for emission solutions, and VP of components engineering.

During his time with CTT, Wood was based in Wuxi, China, while leading the Asia Engineering Organization, and also served as the Europe ABO Technical Leader from 2017 to 2022.

“His global perspective, collaborative approach, keen technical skills, and customer experience are a tremendous asset to Cummins,” Cummins officials said. “Throughout his career, Wood has developed global engineering teams and championed diversity and inclusion across the technical organization.”