Cummins’ chief administrative officer (CAO) and former general counsel Sharon Barner is retiring, effective May 31. Her replacement will be named in the coming weeks, according to the company.
Barner joined Cummins in 2012 as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, a position she held until 2021 when she became the firm’s CAO.
Over the last four years she has been in charge of 12 corporate functions including, according to her LinkedIn profile, regulatory affairs and product compliance, government relations, corporate responsibility, global enterprise risk, ethics and compliance, global investigations and ESG strategy.
As CAO, she also helped the company through the Covid-19 pandemic and led the functional integration of several major acquisitions including that of Meritor. She was a member of the Atmus board to help with the separation of Cummins’ filtration business.
According to a company announcement: ‘As Cummins’ vice president and general counsel, Barner re-envisioned the legal function to address external factors, like increased globalization, technological disruption and amplified government oversight… Barner built a globally diverse and talented team of legal experts across 11 countries, skillfully executed multiple large-scale mergers and acquisitions, navigated several complex regulatory matters and continued to protect Cummins’ business interests.’
Before joining the company, Barner worked at law firms, most recently Foley & Lardner, focusing primarily on intellectual property law. She then served in the US Department of Commerce as deputy undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and deputy director of the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Jennifer Rumsey, chair and CEO of Cummins, says in a statement: ‘Sharon is not only a renowned legal expert and business leader in intellectual property, risk management and environmental and regulatory affairs, she is also a model of courage, integrity and strong leadership. She embodies our values, always lifting others up as she climbs, creating nurturing environments where everyone can thrive and passionately advocating in our communities.’
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
