Bendix Appoints Michael Hawthorne as CEO
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has appointed Michael Hawthorne as its CEO and named him as a member of the company’s executive board.
Hawthorne will succeed outgoing CEO and executive board member Berend Bracht, who is stepping down to take a role outside the company.
“The transition was prompted by Mr. Bracht’s decision to accept a new role outside the company,” Bendix spokesperson Barbara Gould told Transport Topics.
She declined to say where Bracht was headed next.
Most recently, Hawthorne was CEO of New York Air Brake, where he had worked for 23 years. NYAB, like Bendix, is a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group.
“Mike’s well-deserved reputation as a talented and strategic executive has been known for years to many members of the Bendix team, and we’re pleased to welcome him aboard,” Bendix Chairman Joe McAleese said in a statement.
McAleese added, “Under Berend’s leadership, Bendix has continued on its solid, sustainable path for growth and continuous improvement. His vision — complemented by strategic investment in key business areas — has ignited exciting innovations underway that mean even stronger and more effective customer solutions.”
McAleese, Bendix Chief Operating Officer Carlos Hungria and Hawthorne will make up Bendix’s three-member executive board.
Bendix, a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group since 2002, develops and supplies active safety technologies, energy management solutions and air brake charging and control systems and components for North American commercial vehicles.
