George David, 2009 IW Manufacturing Hall of Fame Inductee
The son of a Bryn Mawr professor, George David, who retires this month as chairman of United Technologies Corp., is often likened to a college professor -- intelligent, inquisitive, demanding.
After joining Otis Elevator in 1975, he became its president in 1986 and then president of the parent company in 1992. As UTC's CEO from 1994 through 2008, David brought to the job an eclectic mix of a Japanese-inspired focus on lean processes and productivity, ruthless cost-cutting resulting in thousands of lost jobs while instituting a generous employee education benefit, and a focus on shareholder return while investing in expensive, long-term technology developments such as fuel cells.
During his tenure, UTC's revenues nearly tripled and the company routinely outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 on total shareholder return.
David turned UTC from a $6 billion U.S.-focused manufacturer to a nearly $60 billion global powerhouse with operations in 71 countries and more than 60% of its sales outside the U.S. David focused UTC on energy conservation, and UTC has reduced its base energy use by 22% and water use by 50% since 1997.
