NEW YORK – 3M Co., the maker of Post-Its and Scotch Tape, has named a new chief executive.
With his employment contract set to expire this month, CEO George Buckley will retire June 1, the company announced Wednesday. It named chief operating officer Inge Thulin to replace him, effective Feb. 24. Thulin will also join 3Ms board.
During Buckleys six years as CEO, 3Ms sales rose by 40 percent. Thulin was a big part of that.
Before he became COO last May, Thulin was head of international operations, and the company credits him with building international sales to nearly $20 billion annually. 3Ms revenue totaled $29.61 billion last year.
Wall Street has been waiting for the Maplewood, Minn., company to name a new CEO. As Buckley approached 3Ms mandatory retirement age of 65, analysts clamored for information about a succession plan.
Published reports suggested that some 3M board members wanted the popular CEO to stay on despite the companys age cap. Buckley, too, did not seem eager to leave.
Unless I drop dead first, Im going to work here as long as the board wants me to work here, he said last year.
In a note to clients, Morningstar analyst Adam Fleck said he thinks investors will applaud the selection of a company insider for its top spot because it suggests 3M is in large part planning to continue business as usual. Fleck thinks Thulins international experience can only help the company grow more overseas.
Buckley will remain chairman until the companys annual shareholder meeting in May, when Thulin is expected to be elected.
Besides its trademark Post-Its and Scotch Tape, 3M also makes products as varied as stethoscopes and films for LCD televisions.
Buckley, who is British, came to the company in 2005 from boat maker Brunswick Corp. At the time, some observers questioned the choice of an outsider from a much smaller company, although Buckley had proven himself in the boat industry.
When he joined Brunswick in 2000, he dramatically expanded the 160-year-old companys market presence. He snatched up boat and engine brands including Lund, Sea Pro and some suppliers. He also moved to create a used-boat business.
Trained as an electrical engineer, Buckley called 3M an engineers heaven and an ethical upstanding super-engineering machine. Under him, 3M made a number of acquisitions, including those that boosted its technology offerings in recent years.
Thulin said the company will continue to look for a lot of acquisitions when he takes the lead. It will also keep investing in new products, continuing a pattern of research and development that accelerated under Buckley.
Thulin, a native of Sweden, has been with 3M for 32 years. He began his career there with 3M in sales and marketing.
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