Dive Brief:
- Rockwell Automation named Bob Buttermore as its new chief supply chain officer, the company announced last week.
- Buttermore will lead the industrial automation company’s manufacturing operations and engineering, quality, sourcing, logistics and customer care segments.
- The incoming executive will assume the role Feb. 13, succeeding Brad Skogman, who has served as the interim supply chain chief since June 2022.
Dive Insight:
Buttermore has served with Rockwell since 1997, most recently as its vice president and general manager of the power control business with the manufacturer's intelligent devices business. As general manager, he led Rockwell's acquisition of modular system manufacturer Cubic in October 2022.
"Bob has demonstrated vision and leadership in growing our core business and meeting our customers’ needs," CEO Blake Moret said in a statement. "His strategic vision, leadership track record, passion for building and empowering teams, and ability to work across the company position him well to lead our agile supply chain organization."
The leadership appointment comes at a busy time for Rockwell.
The company signed a new EV component supplier agreement with Ford in November, with Rockwell set to provide operations primary controls and solutions for the automaker's three EV assembly sites.
Moret also noted in a January earnings call that the company has seen a bump in orders across segments due to projects spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act.
As head of supply chain, Buttermore will lead Rockwell's efforts to improve supply chain performance, which Moret noted is gradually improving. The CEO highlighted the company's strong backlog against rising orders stretching past 2024, particularly in renewable energy and auto manufacturing.
"When an automobile manufacturer builds a plant in the U.S., there is a higher probability that we're going to get large content because of our strong position here," the CEO said on the call.
