Cummins’ VP of strategic initiatives, Ed Pence, who played a key role in the company’s larger engine operations, is retiring after 36 years.
This story by Kirk Johannesen originally appeared in The Republic.
Pence said his final day would be the end of January.
The 1981 Indiana University graduate has served the company in a variety of roles, starting with purchasing as a new hire out of school. But his leadership with the heavy-duty truck and high-horsepower operations and mentoring of employees have been particularly notable contributions in the eyes of Cummins’ top executives.
In January 2013, Pence, as general manager of the heavy-duty engine business, played an instrumental role in Cummins’ heavy-duty engine market share increasing from nearly 20 percent to as high as 50 percent in North America.
That was at a time when the heavy-duty business was tumultuous, and Cummins briefly considered leaving the market. Instead, the company altered its heavy-duty approach, negotiated long-term supply agreements with customers and targeted becoming an industry leader in emissions solutions, Freeland said.
Pence listed the restructuring of the heavy-duty engine business from 2001 to 2004, and its subsequent improvement as one of the highlights of his career.
Most recently, Pence has been helping with strategic initiatives, such as laying the groundwork for the creation of Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies. The 50-50 joint venture with Eaton, a global power management company, was announced in April. Together the companies will design, assemble, sell and support automated transmissions for heavy-duty and medium-duty commercial vehicles.
Pence said the decision to retire is rooted in a personal memory about his dad, also named Ed. His father died suddenly of a heart attack at age 58 at a time when he and his brothers were talking with their dad about him purchasing a lake house in northern Indiana, and using it to spend more time with his grandchildren.
