By Ted Mann
United Technologies Corp. said the head of its aerospace
division was leaving the company, leading to the first major
management moves after former Chief Executive Louis Chenevert was
ousted last year.
Alain Bellemare, 53, is stepping down as president and CEO of
the company's Propulsion and Aerospace Systems Division at the end
of the month, and the company said it is going to eliminate his
position entirely. The leaders of UTC Aerospace Systems and Pratt
& Whitney now will report directly to new CEO Greg Hayes.
The company said it would elevate two executives who served
under Mr. Bellemare and together ran the UTC Aerospace Systems
division, which encompasses Hamilton Sundstrand and Goodrich Corp.
Dave Gitlin will serve as president of UTC Aerospace Systems, and
Mike Dumais will take on a new position of senior vice president,
strategic planning, advising Mr. Hayes on capital allocation and
potential changes to the company's portfolio and organizational
structure. Paul Adams will continue as president of Pratt &
Whitney.
Mr. Bellemare's departure continues a period of upheaval at
United Technologies, which has big bets on the future of its
industrial businesses, including ramping up production of its
newest Pratt engines and managing the vast base of elevators that
its Otis Elevator unit has installed in recent years in rapidly
growing cities in China.
The change will eliminate a management layer between Mr. Hayes
and the executives that run the businesses that produced roughly
44% of the company's $63 billion of sales in 2013. Mr. Hayes has
said he would like to continue the hands-on approach over the
company operations he had as chief financial officer.
Mr. Chenevert retired abruptly in November, stunning people
inside and outside the company, amid concerns that he wasn't
focused enough on its operations.
Mr. Bellemare was an ally of Mr. Chenevert, a company official
said. He will continue as a consultant to the company.
Write to Ted Mann at ted.mann@wsj.com
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