Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has appointed Michael J. Hawthorne as the company’s new president and CEO.
The Elyria, Ohio manufacturer of active safety, air management and braking system technologies for commercial vehicles, including school bus brakes and electronic stability controls, is a division of the Knorr-Bremse Group in Munich, Germany.
Knorr-Bremse Group manufactures pneumatic braking and related safety systems for commercial vehicles and railroads. Hawthorne also serves as chairman of the board for Knorr Brake Company, a Westminster, Maryland-based member of Knorr-Bremse. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Hawthorne’s chairman status.
He succeeded the outgoing president, CEO and executive board member Berend Bracht, who is resigning to take a role outside the firm. Hawthorne will now be joined on the executive board by Bendix Chairman Joe McAleese and Bendix COO Carlos Hungria.
Since 2012, Hawthorne has been president and CEO of New York Air Brake (NYAB), a sister company of Bendix within the Knorr-Bremse Group. He was at NYAB for 23 years, prior to which he was with Raytheon and General Electric.
Hawthorne has been awarded over 20 patents, and received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and an MBA from Syracuse University.
