Honeywell chairman and CEO Dave Cote to receive 2016 Deming Cup for Operational Excellence

The W. Edwards Deming Center at Columbia Business School has announced that the 2016 Deming Cup for Operational Excellence will be awarded to Honeywell chairman and CEO David M Cote and chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra K Nooyi. 

Awarded annually since 2010, the Deming Cup honours leaders for operational excellence and for fostering a culture of continuous improvement within their organisation. Cote is recognised for his commitment to building a strong and sustainable corporate culture at Honeywell with a business model focused on the three pillars of portfolio, process and culture.  Under his leadership for the last 14 years, Honeywell has grown to have an impressive portfolio with great positions in good industries and a constant process focus, combined with a unified, performance-driven culture. 

A longtime admirer of Dr. Deming, Cote acknowledged that it was particularly meaningful for him to receive this eponymous award. “This honour celebrates Honeywell’s commitment to operational excellence that has helped to propel our growth and has made our company a place where customers want to do business, employees want to work and investors want to invest,” he said.

In his congratulations to Cote and Nooyi, Professor Nelson Fraiman, director of the Deming Center, applauded them “not only for creating successful organisations, but also for doing so through the values of continuous improvement and innovation, and for empowering employees as agents in that transformation.”

Founded in 1993 at Columbia Business School, The W. Edwards Deming Center promotes operational excellence in academia and business by sponsoring applied research and curriculum creation, disseminating best practices, and providing professional development opportunities for practitioners. 

The 35-member judging committee, comprising of eminent figures in industry and academia, is co-chaired by Terry Lundgren, chairman and CEO of Macy’s; Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; and Paul O’Neill, the 72 secretary of the U.S. Treasury.  Previous winners of the Deming Cup include Ken Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express Company; Dr. Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic; Dr. Brent James, executive director of the Healthcare Leadership Institute at Intermountain Healthcare; Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson; Ellen Kullman, former chairman and CEO of DuPont; Sam Palmisano, former chairman and CEO of IBM; Paolo Rocca, chairman and CEO of Tenaris; Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons; Stef Wertheimer, founder of ISCAR; and current committee co-chairs Lundgren and  Marchionne.

The award will be presented during a reception at the university in October 2016.