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Textron CEO Lisa Atherton.
Lisa Atherton, who assumed her new role as president and CEO of Textron on Jan. 4, outlined her three top priorities for the company in a call with analysts.
Atherton succeeds Scott Donnelly, who led the company since late 2009 and who now serves as executive chairman of Textron’s board. Atherton, who joined Textron 18 years ago, most recently served as president and CEO of Textron subsidiary Bell. Textron announced the change of leadership in October.
It was Atherton’s first public comments since becoming CEO.
“We are really starting from a very strong foundation,” Atherton told analysts on a call about the company’s financial results. Textron is the parent company of Textron Aviation, Bell, Industrial, Textron Systems and Finance.
The first priority is execution, Atherton told analysts. “Each business has to deliver on their commitments with the operational rigor and cash discipline and have the accountability to do so,” Atherton said. “I have a phrase: ‘We have to do what we say we’re going to do.’ And so, we’re going to hold each business to that.”
Second is a focus on the company’s portfolio and how to allocate capital for the highest return opportunities across its aerospace and defense assets.
“We have to be very clear about where we lean in and equally clear about where we don’t,” Atherton said.
Finally, “we have to really keep building resilience so that all of our businesses perform well across cycles,” she said. “You could think about that as investing in our manufacturability, investing in our supply chain and really investing in our talent. So, that’s what we have to do.”
And the company must do it with clarity, she said.
“We have to very clearly define those execution goals to clearly define our allocation of our capital and that strategic focus across our business,” Atherton said. “I think having that rigor is going to result in us continuing to execute reliably while we make clear choices of what we invest in, what we protect and frankly, what we don’t pursue is equally as important.”
Vertical Research Partners analysts called Atherton’s first public comments as the new CEO a highlight.
“Her views on the company’s strategy and portfolio were much more constructive than what we have heard in the past, particularly with regard to a focus on A&D, and on businesses that have decent growth and returns,” Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard said in a report to investors.
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