Timken Overhauls Leadership for AI-Driven Industrial Growth

NORTH CANTON, Ohio – January 07, 2026 – The Timken Company, a 125-year-old stalwart in engineered bearings and industrial motion, today announced a sweeping strategic overhaul of its leadership and organizational structure. The moves, orchestrated by President and CEO Lucian Boldea just four months into his tenure, signal a decisive pivot towards technology-driven growth, with a pronounced emphasis on artificial intelligence, data analytics, and global market agility.

The realignment introduces new chief technology officer and vice president of marketing positions, evolves the company's regional leadership, and centralizes its global operations and supply chain functions. This comprehensive restructuring is designed to modernize the industrial giant, making it more responsive to customer needs and better positioned to compete in a sector rapidly being reshaped by digital transformation.

"Since I joined Timken in September of 2025, we have been reviewing our operating model to ensure we best serve our customers and fully realize our potential," said Lucian Boldea in the company's announcement. "These targeted leadership updates align with our primary growth drivers and further empower our team to leverage our complementary product portfolio to support customers more comprehensively as one Timken."

A New Blueprint for Technology and Innovation

At the heart of Timken's strategic pivot is the creation of a chief technology officer (CTO) role, a first for the company. John Szarka, formerly the vice president of product management for engineered bearings, has been appointed to the new position. His mandate is to spearhead an enterprise-wide technology strategy, focusing on delivering advanced product roadmaps and, crucially, leading the company's initiatives in AI, automation, and data analytics.

This appointment elevates technology from a supporting function to a primary engine for organic growth. The move reflects a broader industry trend where industrial manufacturing is no longer experimenting with but actively scaling AI. Industry analysts predict that by 2026, over 40% of manufacturers will have upgraded production scheduling systems with AI for autonomous processes. For Timken, this means leveraging data to improve "decision velocity and resource deployment," according to the company.

The strategy is a clear reflection of Boldea's own background. Before joining Timken, he was President and CEO of Honeywell Industrial Automation, where he was a key figure in driving the company's transformation towards autonomous operations using AI and IoT. By installing a dedicated CTO, Boldea is embedding a similar tech-forward DNA into Timken's core, aiming to move beyond predictive maintenance to prescriptive solutions that optimize customer operations in real time.

Sharpening Global Market and Regional Strategy

Complementing the technology push is a renewed focus on commercial execution and market penetration. Sean Hendricks, who previously served as president of the Timken-owned Lovejoy brand, has been appointed to the new role of vice president of marketing. He is tasked with leading a unified market and channel strategy to sharpen customer-centric positioning and unlock cross-selling opportunities across Timken's diverse portfolio.

This commercial focus is being deployed through a newly evolved regional leadership structure designed to accelerate sales growth. Veteran executive Sudesh Kumar has been named president of Americas, while Diego Macario, formerly president of the acquired automatic lubrication systems company Groeneveld-BEKA, will now serve as president of Europe.

The appointments come as Timken navigates a complex global economic landscape. While Europe's manufacturing sector has shown signs of a slowdown, with the Eurozone Manufacturing PMI hitting a nine-month low in December 2025, long-term opportunities in infrastructure and defense spending remain. Macario's leadership will be critical in navigating these conditions and driving growth. In the Americas, Kumar will oversee a market where trends like reshoring and the vertical integration of supply chains are creating new opportunities for domestic industrial suppliers. These regional leaders are tasked with driving geographic penetration and tailoring Timken's offerings to local customer needs.

Optimizing the Engine Room: Operations and Supply Chain

The third pillar of Boldea's strategy involves a significant consolidation of the company's operational backbone. The scope of Timken's operations and supply chain functions is being expanded to span the entire organization. This holistic approach is intended to create an enterprise-wide focus on global manufacturing, procurement strategies, process transformation, and continuous improvement.

According to the company, this shift is designed to drive improved cost and performance. Perhaps most significantly, it aims to accelerate the realization of synergies from acquisitions—a key value driver for a company that has steadily grown its portfolio. By centralizing these functions, Timken seeks to build a more resilient and efficient global supply chain, a critical imperative in an era marked by geopolitical tensions and logistical disruptions. This aligns with a broader industry push towards intelligent supply chains that use AI and digital twins to become more proactive and adaptive.

A Proactive Stance in a Competitive Landscape

Timken's comprehensive realignment is not happening in a vacuum. The moves are a clear response to the competitive pressures and technological shifts defining the modern industrial landscape. Key competitors are undertaking similar transformations. SKF, for instance, is in the process of separating its Industrial and Automotive businesses and is heavily investing in regionalizing its supply chains to enhance resilience and efficiency.

By creating dedicated leadership for technology and marketing while simultaneously strengthening regional control and centralizing operations, Timken is making a bold, proactive play. Boldea's strategy appears to be a calculated effort to ensure the 125-year-old company is not just keeping pace with change but is structured to lead it.

The statement from the CEO projects confidence that the new model will "fuel innovation, strengthen commercial execution and position us to capture greater share in key market verticals." For a global leader with $4.6 billion in 2024 sales, these changes represent a significant bet on a future where industrial success is defined as much by data and algorithms as it is by steel and engineering. The integrated approach suggests a clear vision: to operate as a single, agile entity, leveraging its full technological and operational might to solve complex customer problems across the globe.